it would cap interest rates at 18% but give the fed some latitude in the event we had an economy where interest rates were rising above that. let's hope that doesn't happen. but we could have some flexibility. host: the at large congressman for vermont, peter welch, a democrat who sits on energy and commerce committee. also standards of official conduct. talk about the regulations in the wall street reform act and other issues you are involved in, trying to get the credit card rate cap. what is this issue show -- so important for you? guest: what is important is there really are two business models. you have the local stores, retailers, main street shops under pressure. the way they cope and survive is hard work, good service, quality product from a fair price. the credit card companies, banks that had a monopoly -- keep in mind, a real distinction. they take a piece of every

transaction as the money is crossing the table. and they are able -- their business model is basically to use the power of their monopoly or duopoly position to extract more and more revenue from folks who are dependent on this service that is essential for the transaction -- the sale of gas, the sale of grocery -- to occur. and that business model that i think we have to reward is the hard work and good service and high quality and a fair price. and our merchants, individual merchants, have no capacity to protect themselves on the cost of each transaction. and when you have electronic transactions, they are pretty simple to do. there is an expense involved. the price as charged has to be fair. and unless you have a cop on the beat -- in this case, the federal reserve writing regulations to make certain the banks don't overreach so the charges are reasonable and

proportionate -- you will see merchants getting hammered with because they can't control. it eats into their profits and their viability. this i think is overdue. other countries have a much lower cost per transaction, and their economies do fine. host: beverly joins us from phoenix on the democrats' line. caller: hello. i have a comment for c-span and then i have a question. for the congressman. you seem to let republicans go on and on and you cut off democrats immediately, so i wish you would change your quick hand on the button there. host: that is certainly not my intention. caller: the congressmen on the credit cards. they are a monopoly. no matter what roles you pass,

you are going to see this come back again with the republicans when they get in with their big business aptitude -- attitude. the rules will all change when they are back in power. it is just a hopeless situation. guest: beverly, two things. number one, libby has been letting me talk, so i want to defend her a little bit. but number two, congressman bill shuster of pennsylvania, of the public for the republican, was a co-sponsor. i am hopeful we will have a lot of republicans who want to protect the fairness of their main street businesses, have them on board and see that the big banks are really overreaching. so i and not ready to give up. i really think congressman shuster, who was a big part of this, and also when senator durbin proposed this in the senate, he got i think 69 votes

in favor of this. so you have a break where several republicans appreciated this point which i think is at the heart of what senator durbin and i are trying to do, which is to get fairness for the main street merchants. h., a question from twitter. guest: rulemaking is an ongoing process. the point beverly made and sasha is implying is things can change. if there's a change in leadership in congress and political point of view, everything is up for grabs but that is the decision of the american people, who do you want representing you in what direction you want to go in and their implications for an election, and if there host: richard in connecticut, good morning. caller: good morning, when i purchase something from the merchant, i continue to ask, any

discount for cash? if they gave me half a percent, they would be ahead and i would be. business likes the fact that the credit card company does the accounting for them immediately. guest: i forgot to mention this, merchants can now give the cash discount. under the old rules, credit-card companies prohibited them from giving a cash discount. if a merchant tried to put a limit -- a $10 minimum on putting a credit card -- then the company said that they would take away their ability to use credit at all. this week, i was in a coffee shop in vermont. the husband and wife owner was telling me how they were inspected by one of the credit card companies.

they had a $6 minimum and they were threatened to have their transaction ability taken away. host: peter welch is our guest, democrat representing the state of vermont. let's go to our next caller. let me on the democrat's line. brooklyn. -- lenny on the democrat's line. caller: somebody bought a home in my name 25 years ago. he lives at the house, but unfortunately, he died. the house is in my name.

the leaned is in my name, i am on this ability -- lien is in my name, i am on disability. i asked the bank to lend me $3,000 to pay off the lien. they refused. they were helped in the recovery and now they are refusing to lend me $33,000 to pay off a lien that they have on the very home which i own a mortgage on. guest: banks need to be lending more money. obviously, banks need to do underwriting, figure out what kind of love they are going to give, whether -- loan they are

going to give, whether or not the person they're giving it to can pay it back. but i think you are right. this bank that got a bailout are now refusing to be a bank, distributing loans and helping to get our economy back. host: roxanne calling from colchester, vermont. caller: since the legislation has passed -- i am an artist. i sell seasonally some clothes, and in other months, the tour season, i am selling my artwork and other things. however, since the legislation has passed, you quoted rates around 2%, 3%, but they are

closer to 5%. not only that, since the legislation has passed, they now charge $5 for paper statements, $10 for services. they have added on all these charges that did not previously exist. so instead of alleviating the situation, with the legislation, the credit cards got ahead of everything and padded their wallets. now the consumer, the shopkeeper, is at their mercy. things have actually gotten worse. guest: two things. first of all, i am not surprised to hear you say that. as we are trying to crack down on overcharges, passed the

legislation is about to be implemented, they do exactly what you said, finding ways to pad their fees, praised rates, all the things -- raise rates, all the things that they do to charge you more money. when you use a credit card, it can be for debit, which is just like writing a check, or credit, where you pay your statement at the end of the month. that part of the legislation is not in the wall street reform act but we need to push ahead. as far as padding the bills, that is something we will discuss with chairman bernanke. the rules have not yet been written. they are being considered now.

the kind of information you provided is exactly what we will be talking to chairman bernanke about. these banks are just tried to get ahead of the safeguards we are trying to put in place. host: the energy how oversight committee will be talking -- energy oversight committee will be talking about salmonella. guest: this all started with the egg recall in iowa. close to 1500 cases. incredibly serious. it turned out, this particular farm had had hundreds of violations and salmonella warnings, with no follow- through. obviously, one of the most important public responsibilities of the government is to make sure that

the food we are buying is of -- is safe and healthy. what we found out his we have a very on coordinated approach to protecting food safety. the major responsibility is between the fda and department of agriculture. but we had a situation where the eggs were laid and were monitored by one governmental agency, and in the building right next door, where they were packaged, it would be regulated by another entity, and they would never talk to each other. the point of this legislation is essentially to make certain we have better inspections, better coordination among the inspectors, stronger recall

provisions, so in the event that there is an outbreak of anything, there can be a compulsory recall immediately to protect the public. this is overdue legislation that will be beneficial to provide peace of mind to american consumers that their food of -- is safe. host: you voted last year against the food safety enhancement act, which is different from a lot of democrats, why? guest: there was a bill in there that would hammer small farms. we have a lot of small farms in vermont. under the original provision, every single food producer would pay a flat fee of 1/2 thousand dollars. -- $1,000. conagra, which has $43,000 --

$43 billion in sales would only be paying $1,000. i did not think that was fair. we were able to get it lowered to $500 for the small farms, but that is still not fair. it should be fair and proportionate. assuming we are successful in having that senate approach, then i will be able to fully support the bill. what i was doing was making a protest on behalf of this strange situation where this big company pays the same amount as a small farm. host: norma in syracuse, new york. democrat line. caller: hello. i am 82 years old. please, please do not cut me off.

i remember dick durbin speaking about this issue on the floor until he was blue in the face. he said, how can you issue credit cards to college students who have no means of paying the debt they would incur? republicans voted to give credit card companies carte blanche. consequently, these companies set up shop on college campuses across the country and they also issued multiple credit cards to millions and millions of americans who used them to get into mountains of debt. guest: i am going to see senator durbin tomorrow, and i will tell him that norma was a real close

student of his speech. you are right, credit-card companies were peddling fees to everybody and anybody. i have a credit card, they are good things, but you have to have the ability to pay back your charges. there has to be a connection between the use of credit and the ability to pay it back. credit card companies did not particularly care as long as you paid it back. as long as they could keep on raising their prices and fees, they could pass the cost of defaults on to you and me. the interest charges, fees, were all insulated, because of the card issuers did not act responsibly when it came to who issued the card.

senator durbin has been a champion on this. host: arkansas. charles, republican line. caller: you can tell mr. durbin for me, as far as students ago, they are too stupid to get credit card if they cannot pay them back. if you and shuster and did durbin want to start your own credit card company, you can do it. you can compete with the other credit cards. you said it retailers have no choice. they do. they do not have to use credit cards. guest: that is not a realistic option to retailers that i speak to. more and more people are using plastic. that is the way the economy is functioning. there is nothing wrong with that, it is a convenience for the individual consumer, and it

is a benefit for the merchant, getting a secure transaction. the question is whether or not there should be price gouging allowed. the price you charge should be reasonable and fair. retail merchants are governed by the loss of competition. a gas station is a classic case. they have a competitor on another corner. they will be checking their competitor's prices all the time. you and i decide that we are going to get gas where it is a penny less. you tell me i can start a credit card company, but as a practical matter, that is impossible. these and mastercard control credit. -- visa and mastercard control credit. they have the highest charges,

right here in the u.s. that is some place where we need some antitrust activity. host: a comment on twitter about elizabeth warren -- guest: that is not my understanding. host: talk about her role. guest: general of the consumer protection agency, which she would be in charge of, is to make sure the various financial products that are being offered are in plain english so we understand what we are buying, that we have rules that are fair and square. basically, a cop on the beach

looking to protect the consumer. we saw with this subprime crisis, subprime issuers started developing these very complicated roles. yes, it is true the individual has a responsibility to know what they are doing, but the government can make certain that they are not setting up these debt instruments that are impossible for people to either understand or repaid. i think it is important to have on thehe beat --co cop beat. at the end of the day, if you have clear rules that are fair to the consumer and financial company, we will all be better off. host: what do you think of the announcement that barry summers will be leaving the president's

economic team -- larry summers will be leaving the president's economic team? >> it is pretty common for this to happen -- guest: it is pretty common for this to happen. mr. summers says that he is going to go back to harvard to continue his tenure. to the president will have an opportunity to basically do a reset here, as he is replacing some of his top advisers. honda out in riverside, california out. caller: i just wanted to say, your guest yesterday, bernie sanders, is a real dance.

check some of them to check the voting machines. did you forget 2000, 2004? guest: thank you for that. if he just want to pay off your credit card -- you can stop the fees but if you have an outstanding balance, you will continue to have interest assessed to the outstanding balance. that does not change. if you have an outstanding balance, and obviously, you and me needs to pay the interest charges on the balance -- bernie sanders is of course the senator from vermont. i will let him know that you were defending him. host: in "the washington post"

-- he took questions from the audience and there were a lot of people who said they were worried about the economy, did not feel like the president got the message. guest: i do not think it is a wake-up call, this is well known. there was a report yesterday that said we were out of the recession since june of last year, but since then, we have lost jobs. if you do not have a job, or you are hanging on by the fingernails to the job that you have, you have a kid that is graduating and going into a very unwelcoming job market, your apprehension about the economy is real. it is tough for the white house. on the one hand, let's be fair

to president obama, he inherited a mess in the financial sector, loss of jobs, all of that happened in the bush administration. the obama administration is responsible for cleaning up. but if you are one of those folks who spoke at the town hall meeting, that middle-class woman wondering if she can stay in the middle class, they are not looking to place blame. they are looking at the commander in chief. i think it is important for the president to be able to do two things at once. take concrete steps to grow the economy on the one hand, talk about the progress we are making. consumer confidence is important. on the other hand, to identify the real world anxieties that middle-class americans are having about their economic

security and their future. i do not think it is a wake-up call because we know it. it is important for the president and all of us to convey our appreciation for the dire circumstances that a lot of americans find themselves in. host: don on the republican line. caller: my thoughts are, the biggest problem we have in america, we have a reactive government rather than a proactive government. it seems like politicians in this country cannot see any further ahead than their nose. something has to happen before they do anything. guest: it has been said by others that congress does two things, nothing or overreacts. in the best of both worlds, he

would be looking down the road, anticipating and setting in place policies that get you from where you are to where you need to be. one thing i would say is, i find in congress there are a lot of thoughtful people who are trying to do that on both sides. there is a big debate about how best to proceed. one of the biggest challenges that i see facing the congress -- and this is important for america -- there is an inability of democrats and republicans to work together. we have gotten into a partisan situation where it is winner- take-all. many pieces of legislation have been passed by one party vote. that does not work for america, by and large. if we have big problems in energy, the deficit, health care, -- what is important is

that we start moving in the right direction. when it is just a partisan battle and it is all democrat or all republican, it robs the americans of all the confidence that they have. i see the political impediments here, namely the inability of republicans and democrats to come together, to make progress by looking down the road. it is a serious situation that needs to be resolved. host: a comment on twitter -- guest: yes, it is the u.s. senate that is in the way right now. i think we should eliminate don't ask, don't tell. i have been a strong component of that. it has been blocked by senator mccain and others in the senate. i am disappointed, but we are

responsible here. senator mccain is of using the filibuster rule from even taking of the armed services bill. host: next phone call. raymond, co-head. caller: good morning, mr. welch. i am a baby boomer and i have five credit cards. my brother bought me a t-shirt that said if you miss the good old days, try missing a few credit card statement. recently, in june, july, august, just in time for the third quarter, credit rates have been

increased $500, $1,500. of the credit cards that i had, only four came down to their original terms and conditions. five of them have shown no mercy on their policy. this is our policy, i cannot help you. guest: first of all, you have a lot of credit cards. i will not ask you what you're doing with all of those cards. you say they but don't change their policy -- they do not change their policy. it is essentially their way or the highway. as i mentioned, i think they are useful, and we have a responsibility to make sure that we use it wisely and we do not take up more credit than we are able to repay, but on the other

hand, the terms and conditions, we have no ability to negotiate. those need to be fair and square. especially when visa and mastercard are basically a monopoly. that is the point of us seeing chairman bernanke. this is the first time in wall street legislation that there has been any step on behalf of the consumers and merchants with respect to credit cards. the banks lobbied against this ferociously. they spent over $70 million in six months trying to crush the durban-welch amendment. it is understandable why. they had a pretty sweet deal that would be the envy of banks and other credit cards of the world. host: manhattan, mark.

republican. caller: i remember watching on c-span when these new rules and regulations were being written, and one of the republican senators tried to add an amendment where the maximum interest rate per month they could charge was 18%. under extraordinary circumstances, 21%. but this was voted down 100% by the democrat senate, who is on this rules committee. if you are really for the consumer and the individual, why would you not pass an amendment, that was a stand-alone amendment, that would cap these rates? guest: i am with you. i have legislation that would

cap rates at 18%. i am not familiar with the vote you mentioned, but i would have voted in favor of that amendment, regardless of who offered it. capping rates at 18%, that is pretty high. what do you get on your savings account, .1%? the cost of money to banks is almost nonexistent. then they turn around and charge you 30%? and that is a rip-off. host: carl, democratic caller. atlanta, georgia. caller: hello, mr. welch. my cousin and i were having this conversation of few months ago. you were talking about these at

the point of service -- fees at the point of service. if wheat pay cash, why should we pay -- if we pay cash, why should we pay these fees? guest: that is what we were talking about. using cash would give you a discount. i know merchants are being approached by people who say, if i pay you cash, will you give me a bit of a discount? rules imposed by credit-card companies say that they are not allowed to offer a discount. under the legislation, they will be able to offer a discount. host: michael in vermont. caller: a good morning. it is a beautiful fall morning

in the river valley. at one point, you were talking about the failure of the regulation. failure of the credit card industry. failure of regulators in the oil industry. failure of regulators in the sec. we pay all this money to regulators, democrat or republican. if we keep making more and more laws, and we have the failure to regulate, what is the point of making more lawless? point. that is a good bo what you saw in the bush administration was hostility toward any regulation. we had the sec, the madoff scandal went unexamined.

we started to cut the heart out of many regulatory agencies. you are correct, if you do not enforce the laws you have in regulation, what is the point? but you had a point of view that was prevailing in washington through the bush administration that it was better to let the big banks to what they wanted, drug companies do more or less, what they wanted. that has to change. we saw the consequences of that, and it was the biggest financial meltdown in the history of this country since the great depression, and it was avoidable, and it was foreseeable. it did not have to happen. in order to stop it, we need a cop on the beat asking

questions. when you are giving mortgages of $750,000 to immigrants who had an income under the table of $12,000, something is wrong, but regulatory agencies were asleep at the switch. the point i am making is we have to revive legitimate regulations, not over regulation, but legitimate regulations. it is ridiculous that bernie madoff was able to rip off people's retirement. host: peter welch, a democrat at large for vermont. as he mentioned, he will be meeting with dick

-- and we'll see you at the hearing today. >> right now on krill, a house subcommittee has heard testimony from victims of the recent multistate salmonella outbreak. next, the committee will question the two egg producers at the center of the egg recall. you can watch it live right now on c-span3. the senate is in session today, lawmakers are giving general speeches and in about 20 minutes, the house will gavel in to consider a number of bills concerning health care issues and wilderness areas. >> c-span's content vehicles are traveling the country, visiting communities and congressional districts as we look at the most closely contested house races leading up to the mid term elections. >> i think virginia 11 is a sign of what's going on with the country, not just virginia.

i think virginia was a sign in 2009 of some of the anger going up in the rest of the country. virginia 11 will move in the direction of whatever ways the couldn't arery is going, and the sign of whether a wave is building for republicans will definitely be seen if republicans win this race in november. >> how are you doing? you've got the wrong shirt on. >> i'm running for congress. never thought i'd do that, but we need people who can balance the budget in congress. >> who are the candidates in the 11th district. >> jer arery connally, -- jerry connally who was elected in 2008 -- gerry connelly, who was elected in 2008 and his

opponent 2008. recently, the district has been shifting toward democrats. president obama won it, president bush took it by a slim 50% or 51% of the margin in 2004 and won it by a bigger margin in 2000. however in 2009, the last governor's race, bob mcdonald, who ran as a republican, took 55% in this district. so the question is, is this district moving back toward republicans, or was 2009 just an aberration? >> he's running against connelly again, what's different this time? >> the environment is different this time. in 2008, president obama got 57% of the district. these suburban districts, this is fairfax county in virginia, northern virginia and prince william county in northern virginia, they're two areas that have been move twargd

democrats, they're -- they have been very popular for democrats in recent cycles. we see that as those districts have been shifting toward democrats, what's changed now is that suburban districts in philadelphia, new york, and chicago appear to be moving back toward republicans, or at least moving in their direction this single. i think that's what's different about this time. the candidates have not changed but what also has changed is keith fimian. he was attacked in 2008 by connelly is being too socially conservative for the district which may be more moderate on abortion and guns. this time, keith fimian is running as a tea party candidate. so will this suburban district elect a tea party snipe that will be a good test of the tea party strength. if keith fimian can win this

when he didn't before, it will be a telling indicator for republicanses that tea -- if the tea party conservatives can win in a district like this, things look good for republicans. >> can you tell us about connelly's identification in this district? >> he's he has a lot of name identification, he held local offices and has been instrumental in working with transportation issues, one of the number one issues in his term he has high name i.d. from that. however, starting with his election, he now has a record in congress, which is different than being popular on the local side. he has voted with the democratic leadership on cap and trade, on the stimulus and on the health care bill. he's sort of voted across the board with the democratic

leadership and the republicans are sure to exploit that in an area, in virginia, in an area that appears to be moving back toward republicans. those may not have been the best votes he could have taken and he'll have a tough time defending those. virginia is also one of the first states to close on election night, their polls close on election night. if fimian pull this is out, this will be one of the first bellwether races that are not exactly a tossup, but if this race goes, republicans will very much have a good chance of capturing the majority. >> c-span's local content vehicles are traveling the couldn't arery, visiting communities and congressional district as we look at some of the most closely contested house races leading up to november's mid term elections. for more information go to

c-span.org/lcv. >> the house gavels in shortly at 2:00 p.m. eastern. until then, some headlines and viewer calls from today's "washington journal." the top story and "the washington post," book details inrnal struggle over afghan plan. obama frustrated by the military.

according to his notes, the president avoided talk of victory when he describe objectives. we are talking about a new book " coming outs monday. news outlets were able to get preview copies and discuss it. let us continue to look at "the washington post" breakdown. it says that most of the book centers on a strategy review and the dissension and mistrust and infighting.

some of the details are released. obama told woodward in july he did not think of the afghan war in the classic terms of the united states winning or losing. we will jump down and hear more but let us get to your calls. chris from california on our republicans lined. i know you have not gotten to read the book since no one has but a few in the newspaper

business. what do you think about what is being revealed? caller: i am very pessimistic about our prospects, long-term and short-term in afghanistan and pakistan i see karzai, our partner, as corrupt and a crook, a coke -- kook. the enemy is not even in afghanistan, according to petreaus, according to -- gee, i forget, but other biggie's administration. al qaeda is in pakistan did you know that. host: look -- let us look at "the washington post." let us go to alan on our

independent line. caller: thank you for taking my call. libertarian wanted a smaller government at home and a foreign policy that is not the policeman of the world, if you will. this change we voted for with president obama gets the worst on both ends. i am not liking it. he should have stood up for what he believed in. but this military-industrial complex never seems to be able to be shut down. thank you. host: ok. looking back at the piece in "the washington post."

let's go to our next caller. soviet in oklahoma. caller: how are you? host: anks, good mning. what do you think of this? caller: i have two questions. host: go ahead, sylvia, and turned down -- caller: the first question that i have, is i think this is a great book that everyone should read. host: keep going. caller: ok. the second question is, is that, i know there will be a lot of elections going on and it seems like there is a good runoff of two women going head to have and i think there is a big change.

i have not had the chance to pick up the book. i will pick up the book and read . but i am all for pulling out our troops. my son has been in the military over 18 calendar years and i am a military mom and i feel that -- like the other military_ host: white house reporter for about the -- "the washington times." thank you. continuing with our topic, as you were just hearing, this new book out, "obama's wars" will be coming out next week. "the washington post" has and written about it. so, we are looking for your

impressions of this. roger, let's hear from you. jacksonville, wyoming. republicans line. caller: i have a couple of tidbits of my own. i think politically speaking the country is numb -- between the newspaper wars regarding the black panthers, who is printing it and who did not read it, and basically you have a right and left and it is so far separated. the democrats are politically correct. they do things that are popular but not correct you look at carter, to clinton, to obama. these are presidents who have really had their policies. host: what do you think the president should do in afghanistan? caller: regarding afghanistan, we have to stay. we have to not pull out like bush, sr., and have to finish the job. these are human beings.

host: north dakota and president obama designed his own strategy for the 30,000 troops which some have considered a compromise. let's head to california. johnny on our democrats line. caller: hello. host: good morning, johnny. caller: how are you? host: fine, thanks. go right ahead. caller: i think the war in afghanistan was a good choice. what i would suggest, more troops. the more troops you have you

can te away the pockets they are hiding in. when you can take away the pockets they are hiding in, that means that we win. host: ok. the question we are talking about today is the new bob what would -- bob woodward book, that details of the internal discussions at the wte house. "the washington post" reports that after obama informed the military of the decision -- looking at the back and forth between the top of visors. -- advisors.

a comment by general petraeus, according to author bob woodward. let's go to tony on independent line in houston. go morning. caller: with reference to some of the remarks bob woodward is making. it seems like he has a somewhat stilted history, stilted perspective of history. because there was a war in 1971 between india and pakistan that began on sunday and finished on a thursday. the soviet union backed india,

we backed pakistan. that war, after it finished about two weeks later, it was found that we have sold weapons to both india and pakistan. so, for one word to say the pakistanis are double dealing, it seems like they learn very well from loss. host: ok. "the new york times," also talking about the bob woodward book, it says -- then loong at the president and how he is portrayed --

lydia on our independe's line in maryland. caller: i don't believe a word bob woodward says. is he at the meeting of the pentagon and national security council? heets his information from snitches and people who scarf around on named sources. if the people who are in this administration want to put out a press release and tell the american people every details of the wars in afghanistan to ending july isobar soldiers, they would do that. i think bob woodward should get a job. why don't he write a real book? is asking theo question about who is the source is. it says inside the white house, according to administrati officials --

cia director panetta, admiral mike mullen, richard holbrooke and a long roster of top officials. the president's interview was on the record and lasted about an hour. let's go to richmond, virginia. german -- jeremy on the democrats' line. caller: the book is probably an excellent account. but sadly, i wish the president had followed through on his initial thoughts in the campaign that both iraq was a mistake. i know he had been after osama bin laden. but what we are locked into is,

we are in occupations. we were in iraq and we are now in afghanistan. a civil war between one group of people will have an idea of how they want to run the country and another group of people who are different. the taliban, we have backed unfortunately in american policies, is it dictators. in afghanistan we back the war lords. when the taliban were in charge i remember suppress the heroin trade, the warlords were no longer able to hav private armies. today we back the corrupt area. during world war ii when we went to italy, mussolini for all of his impossible way of doing things, had suppressed the mafia. when we went to sicily, week reignited the mafia, worked with lucky luciano.

host: we will leave it there, jeremy. looking at reporting in politico, they say bob woodward's th book -- 16 books have all been best sellers. politico speculating on what the white house hopes this book reveals or how it comes across. goes on to say if there bet turns out wrong, white house aides will have little grounds

for complaining was out of the loop. at times during the reporting, according to administration officials and other sources, woodward surprised top defense and intelligence officls for coming in to interviews armed with classified nappes, in some cases labeled with code names for clandestine operations. ryland, daylong the republicans line. caller: calling about what you stated in the new book by bob woodward, about what petreaus was saying we will be there for the duration of our children. i think that is a good signal. even john mccain said when he was running for president, we will march to the gates of r this war. this is a bad precedent. if we would really wanted to stop the war we would be eradicating the >> we're going to leave this "washington journal" piece now and a reminder, you think watch this or any "washington

journal" piece at c-span.org. the house is about to gavel in, 23 bills on the calendar. any recorded votes will be held at 6:00 p.m. eastern. now live house coverage here on c-span.

the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's rooms, washington, d.c. september 22, 2010. i hereby appoint the honorable henry cuellar to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, nancy pelosi, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: the prayer will be offered by the guest chaplain, reverend douglas fisher from grace church, millbrook, new york. the chaplain: let us pray. gracious god, these elected leaders of our nation gather

together today in anticipation of your guidance. they want to do what is right and good and holy. they want to be an inspiration to your people in a trying time. fill them with your creative, dynamic spirit. outside these walls, your people, among them immigrants, the unemployed, the grave men and women of our armed forces live in hope of wise decision from this body. indeed, your whole creation itself is profoundly affected in so many ways by what happens here. compassionate god, enlighten us. show us your will. and give us the courage to fulfill it. at the end of this day, may the united states of america be closer to being a light unto the nation, a beacon of hope in this world, living god, we ask your blessing upon this house, upon this nation.

amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has compampled the journal of the last day's proceedings and announced to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from tennessee, congressman wamp. mr. wamp: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from new york, congressman murphy, is recognized for one minute. mr. murphy: mr. speaker, i rise today to honor and thank father doug fisher from millbrook, new york, for serving as the guest chaplain today for the house of representatives. for over 10 years father doug has served as the representative-elector of grace episcopal church located in the

20th district in new york. previously he served as chaplain at the united states military academy at west point. and he continues to correspondent -- correspond with many of their graduates who are serving their country. father doug has been a leader in our community through difficult times. grace church is known throughout duchess county for its many outreach programs including its food pantries, service and support groups for the unemployed and underemployed, its a.a. groups, nursery school. he's brought together people of diverse socioeconomic, cultural, racial, and religious background to promote dialogue, social justice, and hope. on behalf of the 20th congressional district and my colleagues in this house, i thank father doug for his work on behalf of our community and invocation here today. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house the following communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives. madam, pursuant to the mer

mission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on september 16, 2010, at 4:39 p.m. that the senate passed without amendment h.r. 6102. with best wishes i am, signed, sincerely, lorraine c. miller, clerk of the house. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house the following communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives. madam, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on september 21, 2010, at 2:40 p.m. that the senate passed without amendment h.r. 4505. that the senate passed senate 624. with best wishes i am signed sincerely, lorraine c. miller, clerk of the house.

the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain up to 15 further requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from hawaii seek recognition? ms. hirono: ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. hirono: mr. speaker, every year the secretary of defense recognizes employers for their support of employees serving in the national guard and reserve. this year the government of the state of hawaii was selected for the freedom award, the highest employer recognition award given by the defense department. hawaii army national guardsman minimum wageor submitted the nominations. the state of hawaii provides credit to our retirement for the time their guard and reserve employees are activated and offers ref frention hiring for those who have been deployed.

the state also held a farewell ceremony and welcome home parade for our 29th brigade. notably, hawaii is the only state to recognize its fallen war heroes by awarding them the state medal of honor. as we celebrate national employer support of the guard and reserve week, warmest aloha goes out to employers like the state of hawaii for recognizes the unique challenges that members of the guard and reserve face in balancing their civilian lives with their military service. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute. mr. pitts: mr. speaker, throughout the month of august i met with small business owners in my district who are anxious about the coming 109 reporting requirements created by obamacare. they see a mountain of tax paperwork in their future. a mount -- mountain that will increase their accounting costs. the 10 reporting requirement has nothing to do with

improving health care in this nation. it was only included as another revenue raiser to pay for a massive new government health care entitlement program that the american people don't want. h.r. 5297, the small business bill the house will take up tomorrow makes a bad situation even worse. instead of repealing this burdensome requirement, the bill actually increases penalties and expands the number of transactions subject to 1099 reporting requirements. congressional budget office estimates this proposal will raise over $2.5 billion. that's $2.5 billion that will go to the government instead of job creators. how long will it take our friends on the other side to figure out you can't increase the burden on our nation's small businesses and then expect them to hire more americans. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from northern marianas islands seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute to address the house. mr. sablan: thank you.

mr. speaker, i rise today to pay tribute to david sablan who has served the northern marianas islands with hopor and distinction. a community leader and appointed positions for both the commonwealth and federal government. mr. sablan is a generation born during the japanese time but it was the coming of the americans that coincided with his rise to leadership. at the age of 13 he was chief telephone operator for the american military government and by 30 in charge of company expansions throughout micronesia. in government service david sablan was designated by president ronald reagan to serve on the northern marianas islands commission of federal laws and by governors of our commonwealth to sit on the planning and budget office. his commitment to the community is evident in his work with the chamber, rotary, make a wish, and boy scouts of america. the northern marianas identify lands, david sablan.

i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from tennessee is recognized for one minute. mr. wamp: mr. speaker, i'm honored to recognize the induction of john elkington of memphis, tennessee, into the beil street brass note walk of fame. it recognizes the accomplishments of nearly 100 individuals in groups who have had a significant influence on american music, particularly blues music. as the developer with an extraordinary vision, he revitalized a two block section of historic we'll street that had ballen -- beale street that had fallen into disrewear. where others failed, he redeveloped beale street turning it into one of america's premier entertainment districts. from the handful of nightclubs and restaurants that opened in the early 1980's, the historic district has blossomed into a place where fans from around the world come to hear america's original art form, the blues. john elkington possess as rare

combination of perseverance and optimism. his love for memphis is unrifled and he's indeed one of tennessee's most important developers. after 27 years of hard work and dedication to beale street, john elkington deserves a recognition of inclusion into the beal. street brass note walk of fame. congratulations. search for what purpose does the gentleman from mass -- the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. neal: mr. speaker, it did not take a lot of courage for the republican leader in the senate to announce his tax cut plan last week which would cost about $4 trillion. handing out tax cuts does not help business. oddly enough while the insurers in those households with incomes more than $1 million would get a tax cut of $10 ,000

next year, he forgot about the households of working poor people who count on the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit. why? because the g.o.p. plan extends the estate tax cuts but doesn't extend improvements to tax credits for low-income working families which the congress passed last year. in massachusetts alone, 210,000 families will lose some or all of the child credit under the republican plan. and 167,000 massachusetts families will lose all or some of the earned income tax credit. i urge our republican friends here to reject this plan from their senate leader and stand up for working families. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. poe: request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute to address the house. mr. poe: mr. speaker, the proposed administration tax hikes are the largest tax increases in american history. the government spends money that we don't have.

42 cents of every dollar spent is borrowed money. now the plan is to hike taxes sky-high. how is that going to create those jobs? it has been said you can't legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. when the government gives money to one person, the government first has to take that money from somebody else. and when half the people get the idea that they do not have to work, because they think the other half is going to take care of them, and when the working people get the idea it does no good to work because the government is going to take away what they work for, that discourages all citizens to work. obamanomics is the failed philosophy of more government, more spending, more borrowing, and more taxes and it's a failed philosophy. that's just the way it is. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from oregon seek recognition? the gentleman is recognized for one minute to address the house. mr. defazio: mr. speaker, the

president was on television this week defending his economic policies, talking about the progress. i'm going to admit that after yesterday we are about halfway back to where this administration needs to be in putting americans and america back to work. yesterday, congratulations are in order. larry summers was either fired or encouraged to leave, doesn't matter, he's gone. but a year since i asked the president fire geithner and summers, two people of, by, and for wall street. wall street has received enough attention. and the republicans would shower even more attention on wall street should they take over again. against main street america and working people. it's time this president came back to his democratic roots, his democratic values, quite near neds to go -- geithner needs to go too. let's bring in a team that cares about working americans. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition? >> permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the

gentleman from south carolina is recognized for one minute to address the house. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, at the end of august the goal was achieved of of of a transition of security in iraq from an active combat role by americans to security forces of the people of iraq. all americans should express gratitude for the courage and resolve of our military and military families. news week's cover wage of march 8 declared victory at last with the emergence of a democratic iraq. the with the was journal -- "wall street journal" editorialized victory in iraq on august 30, citing the courage of the americans who will fight in our defense. and on september 6, the "washington times" proclaimed, mission accomplished in iraq. as the grateful father of two sons who served in iraq and as co-chairman of the victory in iraq caucus, established with our former colleague, mark green of wisconsin, i know firsthand of the achievements of the american military personnel. i am confident with the leadership of general david petraeus, based on the bush

success of iraq, that the obama surge in afghanistan will promote liberty and peace. in conclusion, god bless our troops, we will never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute to address the house. >> i commend our leaders for peace in the middle east. i felt such hope when i saw the two leaders stand together and condemn the deadly attacks on israeli citizens by hamas. mr. mcgovern: neither let it undermine their desire for

peace. the u.s. can tro pride support dosh provide support to both parties, choices that have to be made for a better, more secure future for all their peoples. i support a return to direct talks for international peace and i call on my colleagues to support this process. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from texas is recognized. >> i stand to voice my support for protecting main street from the tax hikes that january january 1. most small businesses pay taxes based on the individual tax rate. increasing the individual tax rate means mom and pop business owners will have less money for business investment and doip --

and job creation. mr. johnson spks -- mr. johnson: it's not smart to raise taxes ever and certainly not in the midst of americaest recession. how will it put people back to work? i know that the threat of tax hikes combined with the new health care law and the countless new rules and mandates coming from the kem -- democrats from impacting the ability and willingness of small businesses to create jobs. we need an up or down vote on freezing tax rates for everyone before election day so the american people can see for themselves who supports or opposes small business and free enterprise. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i request permission to speak for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute to speak -- to address the house. mr. garamendi: i intended to speak on the 49th an verse arery of the peace corps.

on this day 49 years ago, congress passed and the president signed the authorization for the peace corps and over those 49 years, tens of thousands, and indeed hundreds of thousands of americans have served this couldn't arery in what is known as the most difficult job you'll ever love. and my wife and i did indeed love it. however, the tax proposal that's before this is that every american taxpayer will are receive a lower tax rate on the first $250,000 that they have in adjusted gross income, whether they're a small business or individual taxpayer. those that have greater would pay a somewhat higher tax. the other alternative is to run up the deficit another $700 billion, which i think is a particularly bad idea but back to the peace corps. it's a great institution. and it's been supported by both democrats and republicans, and we think that's a good thing. and that's the rest of the

story. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman gentleman from indiana seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: weather, the gentleman is are recognized for one minute to address the house. mr. pence: the american people are hurting in the city and on the farm. our economy continues to struggle. unless congress acts before the end of this year, every american will see a tax increase. every single wuven. that's why -- every single one. that's why i rise in disbelief with the news that this congress is poised to adjourn for the fall elections without even taking a vote on extending current tax relief. let me say that again. i know there are proposals on the majority side about trying to extend the tax relief for some and not others, but what

we're hearing is they intend to adjourn before election day without ever voting to make sure that no american sees a tax increase in january of next year. mr. speaker, higher taxes won't get anybody hired. raising taxes on job creators won't create jobs. let's have the debate. there's a growing, bipartisan majority in this house that is prepared to extend all tax relief for every american in this, the worst economy in 25 years. and so i say, no extension of tax relief, no adjournment. congress must not adjourn until we take an up or down vote on extending all tax relief for every american. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from arkansas seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute and are revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the

gentleman is recognized for one minute to address the house. mr. boozman: i rise today to honor a soldier who sacrificed his life for american freedom. u.s. army specialist brian todd rayburn. he joined the army in september of 2007, following in the steps of his grandfather a korean war veteran. he was assigned to the first brigade, 101st airborne in kentucky. he served as a military policeman and deployed to afghanistan in april of 2010. commanding officers noted that specialist ray behr was the first to -- rainer was the first to pre-- raber was the first to prepare for a mission and last to leave. family members say he loved serving his country and his desire to continue his service four more years, working to

become an army drill sergeant. he died of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked the armored vehicle he was driving, he was 20 years old. he and his family made a tremendous sacrifice for our country. ski my colleagues to keep his family and friends in their thoughts and priors in this difficult time. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute to address the house. >> there's a thief abroad in this country kansasing $172,000. but the loss is greater, social

security a son who can take his father to the ballgame but only a shell sits beside him. the loss is a child whose best frand can no longer play games with him. the thief is alzheimer's disease. there's no felony to be charged against the killer even though it's the seventh leading cause of death in this country. the disease affects african-americans and hispanics at a higher rate than others and those with a family history of alzheimer's are also more at risk. regardless, every 70 seconds, someone in this country will develop this disease. september 21 was alzheimer's awareness day. it is worth the time to think about ways to support the fight against this disease. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house the following communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of

representatives, madam, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate and september 22, 2010, at 12:25 p.m. that the senate passed senate 3814, senate 3717, with best wishes, i am, signed sincerely, lorraine c. miller, clerk of the house. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from the virginia i-- virgin islands seek recognition? >> i -- mrs. christensen: i ask that the chair entertain motions relating to the following measures, h.r. 6307, house resolution 5305, house resolution 1560, house resolution 1582, a bill to renew the authority of the sec are retear of health and human

services to approve demonstration projects designed to test innovative strategies in state child welfare programs and a bill to amend the internal revenue code of 1986 to extend the funding and expenditure authority of the airport and airway trust fund under title 49 code and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or on which the vote is objected to under clause 6 of rule 20. record votes on postponed questions will be taken after 6:00 p.m. today. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from the virgin islands seek recognition? mrs. christensen: i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r.

36 -- 4347 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: a bill to amend the indian self-determination act to provide for further self-govern roance of indian tribes and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from the virgin islands, 34s christensen, and the gentleman will each control 20 minutes. mrs. christensen: i ask that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mrs. christensen: thank you, mr. speaker. under self-governance, the indian tribes assume the duties of the u.s. government. self-governance empowers tribes to exercise their inherent sovereignty and make deekey decisions that will impact their nation. the widespread success of

self-governance since its inception demonstrates that when tribes make the digs that directly impact their tribal citizen the outcomes are far greater. introduced by our colleague from oklahoma, mr. boren, h.r. 4347 would amend the self-determination contracting program to allow title 1 tribes to become familiar with the self-governance program. this legislation would also amend the department of interior self-governance program to make it consistent with the self-governance program at the department of health and human services. it allows indian tribes to step into the shoes of the federal government, administer programs at the department of interior, using rule and procedures similar to those used at the indian health service. i would like to commend mr. boren of oklahoma for his leadership on this issue and i urge my colleagues to support this measure. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves, the gentleman from washington.

mr. hastings: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hastings: the bill under consideration today is version of a previous bill. the republicans felt this bill accomplishes its primary goal which is to increase the outsourcing of tribes programs and functions of the department of interior that are provided to indians was of their status as indians. at the core of h.r. 4347, the principle that washington, d.c. is not capable of managing tribal lands as effectively as the government of the indian people, the indian tribes this bill would be a template to outline federal resources where appropriate to states, tribes and the private sector. i must say, mr. speaker, i'm disappointed that the obama

administration has not provided a formal statement on the position of 4347 as amended. bipartisan staff sought to address concerns expressed by the department of interior in the testimony on the bill as introduced. for this reason, i think the house is owed something in writing from the department clarifying its views on the amended bill. regardless, i do not see this silence from the administration as a reason to hold up the progress on the bill and with that, mr.ing -- with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from virgin islands. mrs. christensen: may i ask if mr. hastings has any further speakers. mr. hastings: i do not. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from virgin islands. mrs. christensen: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from the virgin islands yields back the balance of her time. the question is now will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4347, as amended. so many as are in favor say aye.

those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from the virgin islands seek recognition? mrs. christensen: mr. speaker, to amend the ysleta del sur pueblo and alabama and coushatta indian tribes of texas restoration act to allow the ysleta del sur pablo tribe to determine blood quantum requirement for membership in the tribe. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentlewoman from move to suspend the rules and pass the bill? mrs. christensen: yes. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 5810, a bill to amend the ysleta del sur pueblo and alabama and coushatta indian tribes of texas restoration act to allow the ysleta del sur pueblo tribe to

determine blood quantum requirement to determine membership in that tribe. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will remind the floor members that this is h.r. 5811. pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from the virgin islands, mrs. christensen, and the gentleman from washington, mr. hastings, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i again ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mrs. christensen: thank you. mr. speaker, one of the greatest exercises of tribal sovereignty is the ability of a tribe to determine its tribal membership. this measure would allow a texas tribe to determine the blood quantum requirement for membership in that tribe. my colleague, congressman reyes of texas, introduced h.r. 5811 to restore the tribe's right to determine its own membership requirements by debleating a blood quantum requirement

specified in a 1987 law. passage of this legislation would extend to the tribe the same sovereignty rights as all other indian tribes. the ability to determine who is and who is not a member of that tribe. this measure's long overdue and i commend my colleague for introducing it. similar legislation passed the house last congress by unanimous consent and i urge my colleagues to support this measure. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from the virgin islands reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, the gentlelady from virgin islands has adequately described this legislation and if there are no more speakers, i yield back my time if there are no more speakers. i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: mr. speaker, i would like to yield such time as he might consume to the sponsor of this legislation, the gentleman from texas, mr. reyes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. reyes, is recognized. mr. reyes: thank you, mr.

speaker. i thank -- i want to thank the gentlelady for yielding and the ranking member and the chairman for supporting this bill. it's a very important bill for us for the ysleta del sur pueblo and alabama and coushatta indian tribes. i have a full statement i would like to introduce into the record without objection. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. reyes: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: if there are no further speakers on the majority side i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from the virgin islands yields back the balance of her time. the question is now will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5811. so many as are in favor say aye . those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table.

for what purpose does the gentlewoman from the virgin islands seek recognition? mrs. christensen: i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5110. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. clip union calendar number 343, h.r. 5110, a bill to modify the boundary of the casa grande ruins national monument, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from the virgin islands, mrs. christensen, and the gentleman from washington, mr. hastings, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, h.r. 5110 would add 415 acres of the casa grande ruins national monument located in phoenix, arizona. currently it's 472 maker monument represents only part of the historic native american community that once existed in that area. a 2003 national park service report identified seven parcels

for potential addition to this monument. h.r. 5110 authorizes the acquisition of three properties by donation, exchange, or purchase widow nated or appropriated funds from willing owners only. mr. speaker, h.r. 5110 is a good bill. representive ann kirkpatrick has worked hard to bring it to the floor and i urge the house to approve it. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from the virgin islands reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, there are many things in my view that are wrong with this bill and i just want to point out three of them. first, this bill represents wasteful and unnecessary spending at a time of exploding federal debt. second, it lacks needed protections for private property rights. and third, it expands the

already loaded federal government at a time when our priority should be on jobs and economic growth not the growth of government. it shouldn't be necessary to point out that at a time of near double-digit unemployment and trillion dollar debt we really ought to be working to unleash private sector economic growth so that more americans can find jobs and pay their mortgages and provide for a better life for their families. instead, as usual with the current democrat leadership we are talking about borrowing more money from federal countries that pass the bill to further engranular dies the federal estate. the national park service estimates that it would cost $10 million to buy the land targeted in this bill. now, this isn't beachfront property on the virgin islands like we saw targeted in this congress earlier. instead, it is in the arizona

desert. but we are hearing the same argument why we should go along with this. are these private lands in danger of being injured by development? hardly. it seems like some of the land may be owned by a wealthy nonprofit, presumably created to protect the land from development. there is no urgent need to borrow money to buy this land right now. no one can claim that these lands are in imminent danger. further, this legislation does not protect the rights of private property owners. instead it continues the disturbing practice of congress drawing boundaries of federal land management areas around private property. even in cases where the landowners have not been given a written approval. when congress expands federal boundaries to encircle private property, we sometimes shower ourselves with praise for protecting private property.

from the private property owner. congress should only draw boundaries around land the federal government already owns. not around what it wants to own. i know the bill purports to protect private property. but it does nothing, mr. speaker, this is important, it does nothing to restrain the imminent domain authority already possessed by the secretary of the interior, according to both federal case law and the congressional research service. this bill expands an area previously, previously designated under the antiquities act. as the committee on natural resources learned from recently leaked department of interior documents, this administration is strongly interested in creating new national monuments or expanding existing ones and doing so with or without congress. the american people are way ahead of washington on these issues, mr. speaker. they know that what we should be doing is controlling spending, protecting private

property, taking better care of the land we already own, and reducing the dead weight of taxation and federal bureaucracy that is free enterprise which i might add is the eng begin of economic growth. mr. speaker, that being said there are parts of this bill i could support such as clearing up add mrtsive jurisdiction -- administration jurisdiction issues and remedying trespassing issues for an irrigation project. i am sorry that these section which is had broad support weren't allowed to stand on their own. with that, mr. speaker, for those reasons that i cited i urge a no vote on h.r. 5110. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: thank you, mr. speaker. i would like to yield such time as she might consume to the sponsor of this important piece of legislation, representative ann kirkpatrick. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from arizona virginia tech. mrs. kirkpatrick: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of my

legislation h.r. 5110, the casa grande ruins national monument boundary modification act. in coolidge, arizona, we have the largest prehistoric structure in the nation. the casa grande ruins national monument. throughout coolidge and nearby city of florence there is evidence of prehistoric structure, homes, irrigation canals, and potential recreational facilities. each year thousands of visitors come to the county to visit the ruins, learn about the ancient culture that lived there, and see the amazing prehistoric architecture they left behind. protecting more of these sensitive areas will allow further development of tourism to the area and help fulfill the mission of the monument. the legislation under consideration today does two things. first, it allows an expansion of the boundary of the monument

to include land nearby that will greatly enhance the existing cite. second, it provides a study to determine what additional in coolidge and florence could be incorporated in the future. this bill is critical for the economic development of coolidge and florence and the entire county. it is critical for the preservation of cultural and historic cites without -- sites without equal anywhere else on the continent. it is the kind of low-cost, job-creating projects we need in arizona. and, mr. speaker, since i have been in congress i have been the voice of fiscal discipline and i have been looking for low-cost job creating projects. this is one of them. this project would create hundreds of jobs in an area where it does have double-digit

unemployment. talk about double-digit unemployment, that's in my district. that is what this is going to address. this is a low-cost job project. let alone let me tell you this -- i will not yield. this is exactly why the american people right now are so angry and frustrated. that is why i am angry and frustrated. that is why you are angry and frustrated because washington is not listening to the local people. the people in coolidge and florence have worked on this project for years. it is not about partisanship. they have come together as local community leaders, as private businesses, to support this job creation project. it makes common sense. and yet once again washington is not going to listen to the voices of the american people. once again washington isn't going to impose its -- is going

to impose its partisan bickering to stop jobs, to not listen to the american people. that's what's wrong with washington. i urge my colleagues to vote yes on this critical legislation. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the chair reminds members it's not in order for talk to occupants of the gallery. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i'm sorry the gentlelady from arizona did not yield to me so i could ask her a question because i was -- we heard a great deal of talk here on the floor about job creation. and i certainly am one that believes we need to create jobs, particularly in the private sector, because the private sector is the engine of growth in our country. and i was simply going to ask the gentlelady if she could document, document by some

official document, how many jobs would be created. the reason i say that, mr. speaker, is because this existing area is already some 1,600 acres. to suggest that an area that is 1,600 acres is not creating jobs but adding some 00-plus acres would create jobs, flies in the face of common sense. what this bill is all about once again is the federal government buying more land when we have a backlog of some $9 billion of maintenance in this country. and here we are trying to add more land which presumably adds more to the backlog. the american people get it. they understand it. that's the reason why while this is small i understand, mr. speaker, i think this bill is ill-advised today and i urge my colleagues to vote no. with that i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. .

mrs. christensen: i neglected to ask unanimous consent for all members to have five days to revise and extend their remarks on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mrs. christensen: i want to thank members for upholding this tradition. this bill does not buy land. it would be a shame if political gamemanship and partisan bickering allowed these pieces of our past the jobs that would be created and the hard work of the people of arizona be lost forever. with that, ski my colleagues to vote yes on this legislation. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentlewoman from the virgin islands reserves. mr. hastings: i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: may i ask if the gentleman has further speakers? mr. hastings: i have no further speakers, if the gentlewoman has no further speakers, i'm prepared to yield back. mrs. christensen k i have no further speakers. mr. hastings: i yield back my time. mrs. christensen kspi yield -- ms. kristen spen: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question son the bill, those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the bill is passed and without objection the bill is passed and a motion to reconsider is laid on the table. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i'm sure you didn't hear what i heard, with that i ask the yeas

and nays. the speaker pro tempore: those in support of the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing. further pr seedings on this question will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from the virgin islands speak recognition? mrs. christensen: i move to pass h.r. 4823 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the tidele. -- the title. the clerk: h.r. 4823, a bill to preserve the national scener area and for other purposes. mrs. christensen: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and

include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mrs. christensen: thank you. h.r. 5823, introduced by congresswoman kirkpatrick would authorize the sedona-red rock national scenic area in arizona this legislation will protect approximately 160,000 acres by restricting land exchanges within the scenic area and managing this -- managing the land within the scenic area for conservation purposes the bill provides that the establishment of the scenic area shall not affect lands, roads, or easements nor will it impact the yu tillity easements or private land or the magget of surrounding national forestland. mr. speaker, 4823 is a good bill, representative kirk patic has worked diligently with the residents, officials and business owners to craft this legislation, making it widely

popular in the community of sedona, i urge members to support h.r. 4823 and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hastings: i have concerned about how this national scenic area designation will affect the safety, welfare and economic livelihood of those who live and work within this 160,000-acre proposal. mr. speaker, there is no underlying act for national scenic areas. as is the case for wilderness proposals and wild river designations. instead, unless guidelines are set limiting how restrictive the designation will be, a national scenic area designation is accompanied by only hope and uncertainty. h.r. 4823 is silent on everything but the fact that land exchanges are prohibited this sort of vague and

open-ended delegation of authority is an invitation to litigation and bureaucratic overreach. for that reason, mr. speaker, i cannot support this legislation in its current form and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington reserves the balance of his time. the jerusalem from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: i'd like to yield such time as she may consume to ms. kirk patic to speak on her bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. mrs. kirkpatrick: i rise in support of my legislation, h.r. 4823, the ese doe in a-red rock national scenic area act. i have often said the con gregs aal district i -- the congressional district i am fortunate to represent is the most beautiful in the country. the red rocks are indeed a national treasure and that is unparalleled. millions of visitors come from across the nation and around the globe each year to see the red rocks.

the community throughout red rock county in -- country in arizona has for years discussed the long-term protection of the amazing natural resource that surrounds the area. a nonpartisan community coalition came together to advocate for protection of the red rocks through a national scenic area as designated by congress. preserving the natural beauty of the red rocks will ensure that our great grandchildren will be able to enjoy this unique site just as we do. just as important, it will attract new visitors and more business to the surrounding community. getting folks to work during this economic downturn this bill is necessary to secure these tremendous benefits. last year, i circulated draft legislation to local stake holders, to supporters and to those with concerns.

the forest service, the city government the local chamber of commerce, the coalition, realtors, small business owners, and concerned citizens, provided valuable comments and edits to the text of this proposed bill. through the house natural resources committee, the bill has been further amended, both by republicans and democrats. and it was reported from committee without objection. good ideas and good policy come from the people. and this bill is the culmination of much debate and feedback in the communities it will affect. thanks to the involvement of so many people with so many different perspectives, we have put together legislation that will work better for the sedona area now and in the future. it is the first step toward moving toward meaningful long-term protection of the area and toward economic

development for the region. once again, mr. speaker, this is a low cost jobs project. there's no cost to this. it is again a project that i have been looking for that creates jobs that requires federal action, not federal spending. it's appalling but not surprising that my esteemed colleagues on the other side of the aisle oppose a low-cost jobs project. they clearly do not understand what's happening to the american people who do not have a job and when you do not have a job right now, nothing else matters. and it's unbelievable to me that, again, partisan bickering in washington, not in sedona, is going to stop a job creation bill. it's time that washington started listening to the american people.

now the people in sedona are able to put aside partisan bickering and come together for the good of the community and to create jobs and washington cannot do the same? believe be-- i will not yield. believe me, i will let the folks back home know who rose in opposition, who let partisan bickering drown out their voice, drown out their common sense abc and i have always said it is the american people that are going to turn this country around, not washington, and this is exactly why. this is exactly why. partisan bickering that gridlocks washington. shame on you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back her time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands reserves. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. hastings: apparently the

gentlewoman wasn't listening to what i said in my opening remarks as to what concerns i had in this bill. i wish she could have yielded to me, i could have asked a question and maybe she could have enlightened me. my understand is -- understanding that there is nothing in federal law that describe what is a scenic area is. unlike a wilderness area or a wilderness river, so i made my opening remarks, the reason i ao pose this is because the vagueness of this -- opens up potential litigation that will likely affect those surrounding this area. that's what my concern is. i'd be willing to work with anybody to try to resolve these issues. but to suggest that my opposition to this is not because -- that i'm opposed to jobs. that misses the point.

the gentlelady was lnting to what i was a-- wasn't listening to what i was saying. i have a concern when there's federal dollars spent, but there's no federal dollars spent. one could say, mr. speaker, if one were thinking in a mischievous way, that the only job creation that legislation like this would create if it were passed would be for the trial lawyers, because they could see over -- sue over something not described in statutes who wins by that? i don't think the private property owners would win by that. i'm disappointed she would use the tone of argument against our opposition as something not trying to work together. there's no designation for scenic in federal strachute. don't you think we should have some designation before we designate something scenic? with that, i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from the virgin

islands. mrs. christensen: thank you, mr. speaker. it's been clear from listening to my colleague, mr. -- ms. kilpatrick, that not only she but the community recognize this bill is good for business and good for jobs. people come from all over the world to enjoy the red rock landscape and the recreational opportunities this space offers. this bill seeks to preserve that landscape. there were several amendments offered by the other side of the aisle at markup and all of the amendments offered by the minority were accepted and they addressed their concerns then. in markup, mr. flake also added to this clause a section that proid provided that the construction or siting of transportation projects or water projects within the scenic area or outside the scenic area would not be impacted. s that good bill which the people of mrs. kirkpatrick's district support. the community has worked together to bring this bill

here today. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: i are reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: may i inquire if the gentleman has further speakers? mr. hastings: i have no requests for time, i am prepared to yield back. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the yes is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4823 as amended? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the gentleman from georgia. >> i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until

counted. a sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays ared or oered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from the virgin islands seek recognition? mrs. christensen: i move to pass 5494 as you a mended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 350rks h.r. 5494rks a bill to direct the director of the national park service abbled the secretary of the interior to transfer certain properties to the district of columbia. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from the virgin islands, mrs. christensen, the gentleman from washington, mr. hastings, each will control 20 minutes. the their now recognizes the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material

on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentlewoman is recognized. mrs. christensen: thank you, mr. speaker. h.r. 5494 was introduced by congresswoman eleanor holmes norton of the district of columbia in june, 2010. the bill would direct the secretary of the interior to transfer title to six small federal properties in the district of columbia. this land transfer will allow the city government to better maintain these properties as well as plan for their future development. mr. speaker, congresswoman norton is a tireless advocate for the people of the district and should be commended for her work on this bill. i congratulate her on her efforts and urge the house to support this bill. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. the gentlelady from the virgin islands has adequately explained this bill. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin

islands. mrs. christensen: mr. speaker, the sponsor of h.r. 49 -- 5494, congresswoman eleanor holmes norton, is chairing a committee meeting at this time so she's unable to be on the floor. therefore under general leave i'm submitting the statement of congresswoman norton for the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentlelady's request is recorded under general leave. mrs. christensen: thank you. i reserve the balance of my time. but i might ask if there are any further speakers on the other side? mr. hastings: i have no further requests. if the gentlelady is prepared to yield back i'll yield back. mrs. christensen: i'm prepared to yield back. mr. hastings: i'll yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington yields back his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. members, the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5494 as amended.

those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. without objection the title is amended. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from the virgin islands seek recognition? mrs. christensen: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4195. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will -- mrs. christensen: as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4195, a bill to authorize the peace corps commemorative foundation to establish a commemorative work in the district of columbia and its environments and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from the virgin islands, mrs. christensen, and the gentleman from washington, mr. hastings, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. cyst mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may --

mrs. christensen: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include material to consider under krs. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mrs. christensen: thank you. this would establish a commemorative work on federal land in the district of column yafment the foundation was created to promote a memorial to honor the preeminent historical and lasting significance of the establishment of the peace corps. and also the american eye keels -- ideals and values upon which it was founded. h.r. 4195 was introduced by congressman farr, one of six members of congress who have served in the peace corps. i commend representative farr for his persistnence championing the peace corps and this legislation and urge members to support h.r. 4195 and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington is recognized.

mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, h.r. 4195 has once again been adequately explained by the gentlelady from the virgin islands. however i would like to emphasize, and i think this is important in the discussion we're having today, that this project would be planned, constructed and maintained using nonfederal funds. we ought to look at that probably more often in programs we address here. with that, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: thank you, mr. speaker. at had this time i'd like to yield such time as he might consume to the sponsor of this legislation, congressman farr. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. farr: thank you for yielding. mr. speaker, i rise on behalf of my colleagues in congress who are return peace corps volunteers. congressman petri, congressman honda and congressman garamendi. 50 years ago this october in a predawn address, then presidential candidate john f. kennedy challenged students at the yoofer of michigan to give two years of their -- university

of michigan to give two years of their lives to improve america's image by serving abroad. this ultimately set the stage for peace corps. redefined u.s. global engagement and elevated american morale standing at the height of the cold war. the idea ignited public imagination and executive branch initiated the program rapidly. losing no time, president kennedy ordered sergeant sliber to be a feasibility study. the sergeant said at the time, we receive more letters from people offering to work in or volunteer for the peace corps which did not even exist than all other existing federal agencies. i was one of those early recruits who found in the peace corps an avenue for national service. and just as 8,000 current volunteers are doing today around the world, i did many years ago in columbia, south

america. as a member of the peace corps, you wake up in a distant country, without any modern amemities -- amenities and start working with your neighbors on projects. you labor to make those projects a reality. and in the process, you build hope and understanding and demonstrate american generosity. the understanding is a two-way street. when i was in colombia, i learned as much as i taught. i took away as much as i gave. when i was in colombia my mother passed away from cancer, my father brought my two sisters to visit me to have a family reunion. my youngest sister, nancy, 17 years old, a junior in high school, was killed in an accident. she was thrown from a horse. her death was avoidable.

but her -- better health care, a better hospital could have saved her. i was angry at colombia, a sort of third world poverty, at my community and at myself for having brought my family to visit me. i stuck with it, though. and over time, with the reflection, i came to determines with my anger -- to terms with my anger. it was not colombia, it was not colombian doctors who flew hundreds of miles in the middle of the night to try to save her. it was not my community in colombia. when the landing strip was too dark for a plane to land, members of the community put out burning land alternatives to guide the plane in. they con soled me. they took care of our family. it was poverty, the grinding poverty that still exists, exposes women and men, young and

old, to enormous vulnerabilities. i might add that those vulnerabilities aren't protected by an american passport or an american ability to find monetary solutions. if you're stuck in an underserved poverty part of the world with a crisis in front of you, you have to deal with the tools at hand. i'm committed then, at that moment, and through my life, to work to end the culture of poverty. my life was changed. it was the peace corps that changed me. my story is one of a quarter of a million volunteer stories and millions of more peace corps stories if you talk to the communities that received the volunteers. peace corps was then and continues to be today a story of goodness of the united states of america. next year peace corps will celebrate its 50th anniversary.

in anticipation of this momentous occasion, the 111th congress is posed at that take action on two very important measures to honor the peace corps. the first, the house will vote today to celebrate a half century of peace corps with a commemorative work in the district of columbia. the commemorative work authorized by this bill is compliant with both the letter and the intent of the commemorative works act. it costs zero taxpayer dollars, not a penny. this bill provides a space where the creation of the peace corps will find its place in american history. it will be a modest commemorative work, a place to contemplate the spirit of hope that gave rise to the idea of sending a cad ray of americans into the world to serve their country by serving the poorest and most vulnerable in the world. it seeks peace through

international service. people to people and cross cultural understanding. i appreciate the work of chairman rahall, chairman grijalva and the minority staff, mr. hastings, doc hastings, that i would particularly like to recognize the staffs of both of those majority and minority committee members who helped bring this bill to the floor. later this year we'll have another opportunity to show our appreciation for the peace corps when we vote for the house funding for peace corps in the f.y. 2011 state foreign operations and appropriations act. the house has met the president's ask of $446 million. the subcommittee marked it at that. which can renew the promise of the peace corps in anticipation of its 50th anniversary. president obama has directed the peace corps to aggressively reform programming and training and open up and expand missions

around the world, specifically in north africa, central asia and the middle east. just as president kennedy did 50 years ago, president obama inspired a nation with his call to service. he has redefined the way the united states engages with the world, emphasizing direct communication and people-to-people diplomacy. peace corps represents those ideals at a time when diplomacy is a global imperative. please join me in voting for h.r. 4195, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the peace corps and allow a commemorative mark to be done at no cost to the taxpayers. thank you, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i have no requests for time. if the gentlelady is prepared to yield back, i'll yield back. mrs. christensen: i'm prepared to yield back. mr. hastings: you are prepared? mrs. christensen: yes. mr. hastings: i yield back the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: i yield back the balance of my time, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. members, the question is now will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4195 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, and the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from the virgin islands seek recognition? mrs. christensen: cyst mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5152. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 351, h.r. 5152, a bill to address the boundary of the kennesaw mountain national battlefield park to include the harston hill and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from the virgin islands, mrs. christensen, and the gentleman from washington, mr. hastings, each will control 20 minutes.

the chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and add any extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mrs. christensen: thank you. mr. speaker, h.r. 5152 was introduced by representative gingrey of georgia. the bill would adjust the boundaries of the kennesaw mountain national battlefield park to include two additional historic sites associated with that battle. pursuant to the legislation, the county would donate the counties to the national park service. this bill has the full support of the national park service and the current property owners. mr. speaker, we do not oppose 5152. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. hastings. mr. hastings: thank you, mr.

speaker. mr. speaker, kennesaw national mountain battlefield park was authorized as the unit of the national park system in 1935 as one of the first battlefield parks. most of the parks consist of confederate positions. this bill will allow the walas house, one of the few remaining structures, to be added to the park. this bill authorizes the secretary of the interior to acquire approximately eight acres that are owned by cobb county and will be donated to the narbling park service. congressman gingrey should be commended for his work on this bipartisan bill and i am prepared to yield back if the gentlelady has no further speakers. mrs. christensen: i have no further speakers. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: i yield back the balance of my time, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. members, the question is now, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5152. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on

the table. . for what purpose does the gentlewoman from the virgin islands seek recognition? mrs. christensen: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5194. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 340. h.r. 5194, a bill to designate mt. andrea lawrence, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from the virgin islands, mrs. christensen, and the gentleman from washington, mr. hastings, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: mr. speaker, again, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mrs. christensen: mr. speaker, h.r. 5194, introduced by representative buck mckeon, would designate a mountain in california sierra nevadas as

matt andrea lawrence. andrea immediate lawrence won two olympic medals in alpine skiing. she followed her olympic career with her career as an ardent conservationist. h.r. 5194 designates peak 12,240 as mount andrea lawrence. it is part of the adams wilderness and yosemite national park. this seems fitting for the life and work of ms. lawrence. i ask members to support h.r. 5194, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: majority. -- the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington is recognized, mr. hastings, mr. hastings: she was part of the board of supervisors. this bill, as was explained,

designates an unnamed 12,000-foot peak between the adams wilderness area and yosemite national park as mount andrea lawrence. this is a fitting tribute to andrea lawrence who died last year at the age of 76 after a long year of a pie nearing woman and civic leader. congressman mckeon should be commended for his work on this bill. with that reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: i have no further speakers. does -- mr. hastings: i have one more but i don't see him. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. members, the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5194.

those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from the virgin islands seek recognition? mrs. christensen: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass house concurrent resolution 294. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 294, concurrent resolution commemorating the 75th anniversary of the blue ridge parkway. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from the virgin islands, mrs. christensen, and the gentleman from washington, mr. hastings, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore:

without objection, so ordered. the gentlewoman is recognized. mrs. christensen: thank you, mr. speaker. house concurrent resolution 294 was introduced on june 30, 2010, by representative tom perriello of virginia and is co-sponsored by members on both sides of the aisle. it recognized the 75th anniversary of the most visited unit of the national park system, the blue ridge parkway, which links great smoky mountain national park to shenandoah national park. i commend representative perriello for bringing this resolution before us and urge the house to approve this measure, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from the virgin islands reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington, mr. hastings, is recognized. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker.

mr. speaker, i'm pleased to joined with the many sponsored recognizing the anniversary of the blue ridge parkway which was first produced by senator harry byrd in 1933 but was completed under president ronald reagan in 1987. with that, mr. speaker, i have no requests for time. if the gentlelady is prepared to yield back i am prepared to yield back. mrs. christensen: i have no further speakers. mr. hastings: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house concurrent resolution 294. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, and the concurrent resolution is agreed to and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from the virgin islands seek recognition? mrs. christensen: mr. speaker,

i move to suspend the rules and pass house resolution 1503. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1503, resolution expressing support for the goals and ideals of national estuaries day, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from the virgin islands, mrs. christensen, and the gentleman from washington, mr. hastings, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the virgin islands, mrs. christensen. mrs. christensen: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentlewoman is recognized. mrs. christensen: mr. speaker, i rise in support of house resolution 1503 and would like to commend the sponsor of the resolution, representative kathy castor from florida, for her continued leadership in recognizing the importance of our nation's estuaries. national estuaries day was established in 1988 to celebrate the importance of

these coastal ecosystems through the nation's trade, commerce, industry, recreation and environmental quality and to recognize the work of national and community organizations to promote the need to preserve, protect and restore these vital areas. in light of the recent disaster in the gulf of mexico, it's clear now more than ever we must pause to recognize the role that estuaries play in the environmental and economic health of the united states. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from the virgin islands reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington, mr. hastings, is recognized. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. this resolution expresses the support for the goals and ideals of national estuaries day, which has been designated for september 25, 2010. we have no objection to this resolution and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands.

mrs. christensen: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to yield such time as she might consume to the sponsor of this legislation, representative castor of florida. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. castor: thank you very much. i'd like to thank my colleague, mrs. christensen, very much for yielding the time. and also thank my co-sponsor, mike castle, the congressman from delaware, for also being a leader on behalf of national estuaries day and thanks to the 36 other co-sponsors in the house. estuaries are deeply connected to our nation's economy and vital to a healthy environment. they are an integral part of our coastal ecosystems and support not only wildlife but also human livelihoods. in these unique lives, they support jobs and other coastal industries. they give rise to our iconic port cities and they remain the

refuge of unique species that define our environment. it is this balance that makes estuaries one of the most important ecosystems in the united states. one worth recognizing as we do here with house resolution 1503. estuary regions contain 43% of the population, 49% of the economic output. while occupying only 13% of the u.s. continental land area. as coastal regions continue to further experience development, it is important to maintain this balance between economic prosperity and ecological health. the b.p. deepwater horizon oil disaster in the gulf of mexico calls attention to this delicate balance between maintaining our quality of life and sustaining our precious natural resources. coastal health and restoration have taken on a new level of significance in light of the oil disaster making our awareness of estuary ecosystems

all the more important. estuaries provide critical ecosystem services that protect human health and public safety, such as water filtration, flood control, erosion prevention. they also protect coastal communities during extreme weather etents such as hurricanes and floods. the tampa bay area, my home district, is known internationally for its collaborative approach to watershed management which has led to significant improvements in the quality of our estuaries, beautiful tampa bay. the tampa bay estuary program has worked closely with the public and private sector to develop and implement a watershed management plan to bring about positive changes. the results have been obvious in tampa bay. water is as clear now as it was in 1950. we have about 10,000 more acres of sea grass now than we did in the 1980's and we're seeing an increase of additional 500 acres per year because of this clear, cleaner water. this is the location of an

active port as well, so business and a clean and healthy environment can co-exist. they contribute more than $800 billion in trade and commerce to our economy. nearly 75% of all commercial fish and shellfish contain species that depend honest wear habitats, making ecosystems vital to commerce. 28 million u.s. jobs are supported through commercial and recreational fishing, boating, tourism and other coastal industries that rely on healthy estuaries. human activities are degrading estuaries at a rapid pace and threaten the health of these ecosystems unless restoration efforts are supported. so national estuaries day has a very worthy goal of raising awareness and educating our constituents about estuaries and getting people excited about the natural beauty to be found there. i ask my colleagues to support those goals and ideals by making september 25 national

estuaries day. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: i have no requests for time. if the gentlelady is prepared to yield back i yield back. mrs. christensen: i don't have no speakers. mr. hastings: i yield back the balance of my time, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1503. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the resolution is agreed to and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from the virgin islands seek recognition? mrs. christensen: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass house resolution 1508. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1508, resolution celebrating the 200th anniversary of john james audubon in henderson,

kentucky. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from the virgin islands, mrs. christensen, and the gentleman from washington, mr. hastings, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentlewoman is recognized. mrs. christensen: thank you. mr. speaker, i rise in support of house resolution 1508, a resolution introduced by our colleague, representative ed whitfield, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of john james audubon's arrival in the town of henderson, kentucky. this community on the banks of the ohio river in western kentucky is surrounded by rolling hills which was the inspiration for many of the illustrations which was published in "the birds of america." this was his contribution to wildlife conservation and remains a valuable source of

information for bird lovers across the united states. john james audubon was a pioneer in the history of wildlife conservation in the united states, and i'm pleased to support this resolution, which acknowledges and celebrates his many achievements. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington is recognized, mr. hastings. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, this resolution would celebrate the 200th anniversary of john james audubon's arrival in henderson, kentucky. . he spent nearly a decade living in henderson, connecticut, and -- kentucky, and it's appropriate that residents of this community would want to celebrate the accomplishments of one the its most famous citizens. i want to compliment the author of this resolution who worked extremely hard on this resolution and i urge support of the resolution and i reserve my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i am very pleased to yield as much time as he may consume to the, as i mentioned, the author of this resolution, mr. whitfield of kentucky. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. mr. wittman: thank you very much. and i want to thank -- mr. whitfield: thank you very much and i want to thank members on both sides of the aisle for working on us with this resolution. as it's already been said, john james audubon came to henderson, kentucky in 1810, 200 years ago this year. he was a naturalist and a painter. he also painted and cataloged the birds of north america in a more precise and -- way than any other naturalist in this nation's history.

not only was he a tremendous paint painter, he also was a great businessman and in 1816 brought one of the first steam-powered sawmills on the banks of the ohio river to kentucky. to commemorate john james audubon's commitment to his community and wildlife, the commonwealth of kentucky dedicated the john james audubon state park on october 3, 1934. it is an impressive structure designed as a replica of a norman french inn to honor his french her tanl. the museum structure has a -- heritage. the museum structure has a round tower in which there are a lot of nesting birds, a cobble courtyard. it also contains the world's largest oils and watercolors of birds. and today the park enjoys thousands of visitors who come and admire the work of john

james audubon. this year the bicentennial celebration has been occurring throughout the year and it's going to end on october 23 in henderson with a huge gala in the community celebrating the works of john james audubon. i would urge the members of the house to support this legislation and once again i want to thank both sides of the aisle for working with us on it. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: i'm prepared to close. does the gentleman have any other speakers? mr. hastings: we have no requests for time. mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. members, the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1508. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no.

in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from the virgin islands seek recognition? mrs. christensen: i move to suspend the rules and concur in the senate amendments to h.r. 1464. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 1454, an act to provide for the issuance of a multinational species conservation funds semipostal stamp, senate amendment. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from the virgin islands and the gentleman from washington each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without

objection, so ordered. mrs. christensen: mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 1454, the multinational species conservation funds semipostal stamp act of 2009. which was introduced by our colleague from south carolina, henry brown. the multinational species conservation funds promotes wildlife conservation around the world for keystone species, including great aprils, tigers and elephants. these programs consistently generate high-quality conservation projects and leverage $3 or $4 from nonfederal contributors for every federal dollar spent. mr. speaker, revenues generated from the sale of a wildlife semipostal stamp as authorized under this legislation would fund these important grant programs. i am a co-sponsor of h.r. 1454 and support its original passage by the house nearly a year ago. i urge my colleagues to support the amended version and send it on to the president so it may

become law. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington is recognized, mr. hastings. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, having congress authorize semipostal stamps to raise funds to support causes is indeed a rare event. as a ranking republican on the wildlife and oceans subcommittee, the gentleman from south carolina, henry brown, was a tireless -- was tire unless clearing this bill through the committee on government oversight and reform. and the committee on natural resources and through the senate. so i want to compliment the gentleman from south carolina for his persistence and leadership in crafting this bipartisan bill and with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield as much time as he may

consume to the author of this resolution, mr. brown of south carolina. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. brown: thank you, mr. speaker. i appreciate the gentleman from the state of washington for yielding, my good friend, doc hastings, and also the dr. christensen for her leadership on the other side of the aisle. mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of h.r. 1454, a bill i was pleased to introduce along with the subcommittee chairlady, madam bordallo, and 153 other members of the house of representatives. this legislation was unanimously adopted by the house of representatives on december 7, 2009. and was aprofpked by the senate on july 29 of this year. prior to its passage, the senate made several modifications to h.r. 1454. these included a reduction in the duration of the time that the semipostal stamp will be available to the public and a stipulation that only one flagship species may be depicted on the stamps. i reviewed these changes and

believe they do not undermine the fundamental goals of this measure which is to create an alternative funding source of highly endangered african and asian elephants, tigers, greater apes and marine turtles at no cost to the u.s. taxpayers. while it is true that u.s. postal service has had statutory authority to issue semipostal stamps for over a decade, it has been the congress that has directed that they be issued for breast cancer research, 9/11 responders and victims of domestic violence. under h.r. 1454, the american public would have the opportunity to support these six species by posting these semipostal stamps. it would be sold at a premium price and after the postal service had deducted their costs, the remaining proceeds will be transferred to the u.s. national wildlife and fish services. it will be their responsibility to collect those conservation projects that best achieve the goals of protecting the

remaining population of these highly imperiled animals. i am confident that one these -- once these stamps are available, they will be extremely popular with the american people. i have been assured that it would be widely sold at aquariums, post offices and zoos throughout this country. based on previous experiences, we know that a large number of people will buy these semipostals and will never use them. as a result the postal service will realize a significant profit from their sales. this legislation offers us a unique opportunity to create a new funding mechanism for a limited period of time at no cost to the american taxpayer. to help save some of the most iconic and endangered species on this plannest. finally inwant to thank those members who co-sponsored this legislation and also chairman rahall and ranking republican doc hastings, car he will issa, chairman joe lieberman and

senator brownback and lindsay graham as well as my friend from columbia, south carolina, the honorable jim clyburn for assisting in this effort. i'd also like to ex pry -- express my appreciation to the conservation organizations that have assisted in this effort, including the wildlife conservation society, the world wildlife fund, the humane society of the united states, the association of zoose and aquariums, -- zoos and aquariums and safari club international. these clupes -- groups worked tirelessly for the passage of this bill and i thank them. i urge an aye vote. there is no question that it will help stamp out extinction. thank you, mr. speaker. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: thank you, mr. speaker. i also want to mention our colleague from guam, congresswoman bordallo's support for this bill.

though she could not be here to support this as she's on official business, she relays her thanks to the gentleman from south carolina for his efforts on this legislation and for the bipartisan manner in which he has worked with her and all of the members on the democratic side of the aisle as the ranking member of the subcommittee. i too am among, as i said, over the 150 co-sponsors of h.r. 1454 and recognize its value as a long-time member of the international conservation caucus. so i continue to urge a yes vote and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i inquire of the gentleman if she has any -- the gentlelady if she has any requests? i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time -- the gentleman yields back the balance of his time b the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time.

the question is, will the house suspend the rules and concur in the senate amendment to h.r. 1454. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the senate amendment is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from the virgin islands seek recognition? mrs. christensen: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5131 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: yunal calendar number 314, h.r. 5131. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from the virgin islands, and the gentleman from washington each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous

material on the bill under curgs. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mrs. christensen: thank you, mr. speaker. h.r. 5131 was introduced by congressman and our democratic caucus chair, john larson in april of 2010. this bill would establish the national park on the former site of the colts firearm company in hartford, connecticut. it would create the park as part of a collaborative partnership between willing public and private landowners in the colts victim historic district. it would also help revitalize one of their most economically challenged neighborhoods. a study conducted by the national park service found coltsville to be of national significance but identified several technical challenges. congressman larson has worked with the committee and the national park service to include provisions in the bill addressing all of the agency concerns. mr. speaker, mr. larson is to be commended for his hard work on this legislation. this bill is good for the people

of connecticut and it's good for our national park system. i support h.r. 5131 and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington is recognized, mr. hastings. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, h.r. 5131 proposes to create a new unit of the national park system honoring the colt family and their kks to our nation through the innovation of precision manufacturing. unfortunately, mr. speaker, it has been so little precision apparently in developing this legislation that even the national park service has opposed the bill. and i know my friend, good friend from connecticut, the sponsor of this bill, has worked extremely hard on this legislation. but the national park service conducted a study on this proposal and found that although the coltsville site is, quote, nationally significant, end

quote, there are so many unresolved issues that they were unable to conclude that the park proposal is feasible. in fact, they are unable to determine which part of the site they would own or even manage. further complicating this proposal, the park service found, or rather i should say, didn't find, that the public would have basic access to the site because it is under private ownership, among a variety of parties including 55 condominiums and nine cottages. it probably goes without saying that visitors to this park would want to see the factory where the famous resolvers and other firearms were produced. upon their arrival, they will probably be very disappointed because quoting the park service, and i quote, mr. speaker, no commitments to permit visitors internal access to the colt firearms factory building currently exists, end

quote. . c1 exist, end quote. how about the stop at the historic home of samuel colt? it is now a private multiunit residential complex whose owners have determined that visitors touring through their home would be, as the park service reports, quote, problematic, end quote. regardless of the will of niece profit owners, this legislation would create federal boundaries around their property and raise serious questions about whether their property rights are being violated. we talked about that a few times earlier today. this is yet another reason why this bill, in my view, is not ready to move today. in addition to the park service report, the agency testified in june on this legislation and to quote from that testimony, the department does not support enactment of this legislation due to the uncertainty associated with the ownership and long-term financial sustainability of the coltsville developmental

project, end quote. they continue, and i quote continue, in concert with the lack of feasibility, the study was unable to determine the need for the national park service management or specifically which resources the national park service would manage, end quote. as a very basic matter of priorities, i would remind my colleagues that the national park service already has $9 billion in maintenance backlog. authorizing $10 million more for a new park that the park service doesn't believe is feasible to me makes no sense. the american public, mr. speaker, as you probably well know, is pleading for this congress to stop out-of-control spending. while the concept and the intent behind this prolve may have merit, and i do think it does have merit -- probably may have merit, and i do think it does have merit, the taxpayers will be on the hook for

rehabilitation costs just to prepare this site for visitors if the visitors could get it, plus additional millions to manage this site from now until eternity. so, mr. speaker, i remind my colleagues that at the request of this congress, the national park service conducted a study on this proposal and found substantial obstacles to its becoming a successful park. they reiterated that in testimony in june in front of the natural resources committee. while this proposal may have its day, and i think it should have its day because the historical significance of the colt factory, in my view we are not there yet, mr. speaker. so i urge my colleagues to oppose this legislation. with that i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands. mrs. christensen: thank you, mr. speaker. at this time i'm pleased to yield such time as he might consume to the chair of our caucus, the honorable john larson of connecticut. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from connecticut is

recognized. mr. larson: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentlelady from the virgin islands and thank my colleague. i can't wait to invite him up to coltsville so he can see the accessibility and be able to be exposed to what indeed is part of this nation's industrial revolution and part of our d.n.a. when it comes to manufacturing. the gentleman points out that clearly the national park service has established its national significance. its national significance, i think, is worth going into snatches i don't think all of our colleagues are a-- in as much as i don't think all of our colleagues are aware of samuel colt and his wife who managed the company for 39 years after his death. and even though she couldn't vote, managed one of the nation's top what would have been there a fortune 500 company in this nation. indeed, it spun the industrial

revolution here, and as a lot of people know from the colt signature iconic name it was the gun that won the west. i hope it wins your hearts today because along with recognizing its national historic significance and its suitability within the park system, it was modeled after what are difficult things for urban areas. unlike a lot of people out west that have spacious lands and -- we were limited. this would be connecticut's only national park. and because of its historic significance but because of its economic significance. hartford is the fourth poorest city in the nation. and, yes, there were obstacles that were put in front over the last several years. and specifically in testimony. and so along with the committee we sat down and worked through

those issues. the issues centered mainly around the third criteria, knowing it was nationally significant, that it was suitable within the scheme of things and followed the precedent established in lowell, established in california and also most recently in 2010 with paterson falls. it follows all of those criteria but goes beyond that. for exactly the points that the gentleman raises. and this is why i think it's so important and why i encourage the dialogue. we were on the phone with the national park service. they have no objection to this because we met all of those criteria, those concerns. what are they? first and foremost, the gentleman's correct. anytime in an urban area you are going to enter into different property vites concerns than you would in an area less congested, shall i say?

the point is this, all of the participants, including the governor of the state and the economic commission, the city of hartford and their economic development commission, the more than 88 property owners that everything was individually worked out with and are all welcoming this because with great pride and understanding of what this will mean to their city and what coltsville meant and what elizabeth and sam colt mean to the state of connecticut and how important this is, perhaps not to everybody here but in a small state and in a small city that's economically depressed, enormously important. the gentleman raises the point. he says, yes, but there were feasibility questions that were raised. there were. the developer has been replaced with a major and significant developer that has the

feasibility and capability. a cap has been placed on any potential liability and cost for the national park service. another important hurdle, i dare say not in most pieces of legislation. and also with the understanding that the park service has veto power over this legislation, should it not prove, even though all the hurdles have been addressed, to be economically feasible. and so i would plead with my colleague. i know that this perhaps doesn't in terms of the norm of national parks in an urban setting, in a congested, densely populated area like connecticut, yeah, it's not going to meet a lot of those criteria. there will be a lot of property concerns. when you go bipartisanly within your state and work with all of the development authorities,

when you go within the neighborhoods and work with everybody in the neighborhood and then look at the historical significance. henry ford came there to make sure he studied the assembly line. prat, whitney was there. it spun the typewriter, the bicycle. the automobile, we can even take credit for. but we're here to talk about the significance and importance of this historic landmark. the urgency is that this structure, the 10,000 square feet that actually the park service would be in charge of that in desperate need, urgent need. it should have been passed years ago, but this is a tough process. but we've exceeded to, and i really implore my colleagues, and many of you know this from having gone through this locally, to have every local

entity down to the basic property holder sign off on this enthusiastically to experience all the different hurdles that we've had to overcome and to go forward bipartisanly with the governor of the state of connecticut i think underscores how important this is to our great state of connecticut. and with that, madam chair, and i would urge its passage. and i understand the concerns that you've raised, but the park service has absolute veto power over that. and i think we in good faith have met every single one of those concerns. and it's my hope that any disagreement or lack of understanding that's transpired can be overcome, but the urgency of this passage, its importance and significance, i'd say to my good colleague and friend, is truly important

to the people of the state of connecticut. mr. hastings: we may have discussion here. if you need time i'd yield time. first off, i can see the passion that the gentleman has on this issue. and coming from the west where that manufacturing facility won the west, i can understand that and respect that. but i do want to point out that there is a process here. the gentleman knows that the approval rating of this congress a very, very low, and we had a hearing -- the reason i say that and i'll get back on that -- we had a hearing in june. the park service expressed their concerns here in testimony. i quoted part of that -- those concerns. so we expressed those concerns that -- they expressed their concerns. we expressed some concerns that we may have had because the

private property aspect to it. that was part of the dialogue. and we marked the bill up in july. once again, expressing our concerns, and i understand the member knows their district better than anyone else and they should be given a lot of leeway. we need to know what the facts are so we can respond accordingly. because it's not just the citizens, taxpayers of connecticut that's funding this. it's the taxpayers of the 50 states. so we need to have some answers. now, this bill was put on the suspension calendar last night. i checked with my staff. we have yet to hear from the park service if they changed their mind or not. and you alluded to that fact, but we haven't gotten anything at all. and so the reason that i bring up the fact that the approval rating of congress is low is precisely for these reasons. even though we don't have the

answers, albeit on a project that is small in terms of overall scope of the federal government, it deserves to have answers, especially when we've been working on this, you said you had been working on it i think if not publicly but in a private conversation for some 10 years. these concerns that we raise goes back to the summer. they should at least be raised or answered, and they have not adequately answered. so while i appreciate the gentleman, and i will tell him, i am more than willing to work with him if this does not pass the congress this year to get these things resolved so indeed we can memorialize that factory. but with the information i have right now i respectfully say to my friend, we focused on the park service, but there is a cost associated with this. i alluded to that and there is a private property aspect. those are all issues.

so with that i thank the gentleman for yielding but i have to say that i oppose this and i'm going to urge my colleagues to vote no, but i certainly, certainly want to revisit this sometime in the future so we can get this legislation passed. i yield back. mr. larson: i thank the gentleman for his comments. but the future for the city of hartford and for coltsville is now. and the sense of urgency is upon us. my good friend and colleague from washington state is an honest broker and a decent person, and i appreciate your comments and everything that you attributed to my enthusiasm and zeal. let me extend to the people of connecticut, as i indicated in a nonpartisan way, who are very much committed to this. the gentleman is correct that in -- at the hearing in, i

believe it was june, that these issues were raised. we then sat down with the park department -- park service and addressed every one of their concerns. and then representative grijalva introduced an amendment that we felt addressed those concerns as well. . in the push and shove of business here in congress and on the floor, i understand sometimes in the process and certainly the gentleman is correct in making process points, i just would say that this goes beyond process in terms what have it means. we're a small state, connecticut, but a very proud state. this is a project certainly everybody recognizes that has national significance and historic value and deserves to

be preserved. the problem is postponing it yet again doesn't work. and so i would implore and understand your position, but i would implore people on the other side of the aisle, if you were in a similar situation and understanding all the fiscal responsibility that we have as a congress and to say that you have ultimate veto power that you give to the national park service, that the project cannot go forward unless everything has been met and the state, its economic development authority, the city of hartford, its municipality authority, all the property owners, all embrace this and have done so enthusiastically. and the national park service has signed off on it. they told me, i respect what the gentleman said. you haven't -- they told me.

i respect what the gentleman said. you haven't received that. that's unfortunate and unfair. i don't doubt your word. i can only ask and implore that you support this, what i think is a very important and nationally significant bill. with that i'll yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i inquire of the gentlelady from the virgin islands if she has any further speakers. mrs. christensen: i have no further speakers. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i've made my points on this and i appreciate the gentleman's input. but i stand by my opening remarks on this, just because we haven't got the information and so i urge my colleagues to vote no on this and with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlelady from the virgin islands is recognized. mrs. christensen: thank you. i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this important legislation and i yield back the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5131 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended -- mr. hastings: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. the chair lays before the house the following enrolled bill.

the clerk: h.r. 3562, an act to designate the federally occupied building located at 1220 echelon parkway in jackson, mississippi, as the james chaney, andrew goodman, michael schwerner and michael k. moore building. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from the new jersey seek recognition? >> i move that the house agree to h.r. 6130. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. does the gentleman call the bill as amended? >> mr. speaker, i'd ask unanimous consent -- i'm sorry. i didn't hear you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman from new jersey call the bill up as amended? >> yes. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 6130, a bill to amend title 11 of the social security act, to expand the permissive exclusion from

participation and federal health care programs to individuals and entities affiliated with sanctioned entities. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. pallone, and the gentleman from kentucky, mr. whitfield, will each control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from new jersey. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i rise today in strong support of h.r. 6130, the legislation expands the authority of the health and human service office of inspector general to allow it to ban corporate executives from doing business with medicare if their companies were convicted of fraud. it also gives the inspector general the ability to exclude parent companies that may be committing fraud through shell companies. this important bill will close

two loopholes in current law so that criminal offenders who defraud our nation's seniors will have to pay for their crimes. mr. speaker, for every $1 put into the pockets of criminals, $1 is taken out of the system to provide much-needed care to millions of medicare patients including two of our nation's most vulnerable populations, seniors and the disabled. this morning my subcommittee held a hearing on medicare fraud in which we talked about the many important provisions of the new health care law that will assist c.m.s., the o.i.g. and the justice department in identifying abusive suppliers and fraudulent billing practices. in that hearing we heard from the inspector general about how this bill will help fight fraud by closing two remaining gaps. the first gap allows an executive who has left the company being charged with fraud by the time of the conviction to continue to participate in federal health programs. this shortfall willingly permits these criminals to move from one company to another and continue to steal from medicare seniors and taxpayers.

it would give the o.i.g. the authority to ban these executives from doing business with medicare. the second gap allows companies that engage in fraud who have set up shell companies to insulate themselves from liability and get off scott-free. once the shell organization is deso -- dissolved, there's no real penalty to the parent company. so h.r. 6130 would give the o.i.g. the authority to ban these parent companies from doing business with medicare. so, mr. speaker, all forms of fraud undermine the integrity of our public health system and i applaud my colleagues from the ways and means committee, particularly mr. stark, for working on this important legislation. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. mr. whitfield: i rise today to support h.r. 6130, a commonsense solution to combating fraud in medicare. this legislation will provide the health and human services

office of the inspector general with tools to properly combat medicare fraud. first it will close an important loophole in current law and give the office of the inspector general additional authority to fight fraud. under current law, for example, if an executive leaves a company before the company is convicted of medicare fraud, that executive cannot be barred from participating in federal health programs. under current law, an executive intent on defrauding medicare could simply move from one company to another and continue to use the american taxpayers' money. second, this law will prevent companies from hiding behind corporate shells. some companies use shell companies to protect the parent company from any liability. if the company is caught

participating in fraud, the shell could be dissolved. leaving the parent company fully in tact. understand this -- under this bill, the office of inspector general can exclude parent companies when such punishment is merited. i'm glad that we're continued to find ways to combat fraud in medicare because we know that health care costs are out of control and i might say, i'm sure every member has the same experiences that i did when we were home over this recent three-week work period in which people are coming up asking all sorts of questions about the health care reform bill. and we really do not know the answers to it because h.h.s. is basically going to be writing these regulations and we're not going to fully know the outcome of this legislation for many years to come, which i think

merits once again the importance of having oversight hearings to have some questions answered that the american people are asking for. i would ask unanimous consent at this time to yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from california, mr. herger. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. herger: thank you. and i reserve the balance of my time, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that mr. stark, the subcommittee -- the health subcommittee chair on the ways and means committee, control the remainder of the time on the majority side. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. herger: -- mr. stark: mr. speaker, i'd yield myself such time as i may consume and rise in support -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. stark: h.r. 6130 which

strengthens the medicare antifraud act as you heard described here. this bipartisan fraud and abuse fighting legislation was co-authored by our ranking member, mr. herger, and was co-sponsored on our side of the aisle by mr. lewis who chairs the oversight subcommittee on ways and means. it was developed in a way that i think congress should do more legislation. it was a problem that was called to the attention of mr. herger and myself and we worked together with the office of the inspector general and the centers for medicare and medicaid and expanded the authority to ban executives from companies who have been convicted of fraud from the

program. as you have heard, many of those executives could come back and repeatedly take money from the medicare or medicaid program to which they're not entitled and this would put an end to that. it expands the permissive authority to exclude affiliates and it sees that the funds thereby go to the services that beneficiaries need. the bill has been endorsed by aarp and it states that the bill would expand the authority of the united states health and human services to accomplish just that. so i want to thank my ranking member, mr. herger, and mr. lewis, for cooperating on. this i think we have unanimous agreement that it's a bill that's necessary, a bill that

will reduce fraud and abuse and a bill that will aid the medicare and medicaid programs. i yield back the balance of my time. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman reserve the balance of his time? mr. stark: i reserve the balance of my time, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from california, mr. herger, is recognized. mr. herger: i thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. herger: mr. speaker, there is broad agreement that more needs to be done to combat waste, fraud and abuse in medicare. in fact, fraud is such an issue in medicare that the chief counsel to the h.h.s. inspector general, lewis morris, who testified before the ways and means health subcommittee this summer, said that, quote, a lot of career criminals and organized criminals have decided that building a medicare fraud scam is far safer than dealing in crack ordealing in stolen

cars and is far more lucrative. right now it's a good bet that you can take millions from us and chances are you're not going to get caufment closed quote -- caught. closed quote. mr. speaker, it's clear more must be done to ensure that taxpayer dollars and seniors' premiums are being used wisely and efficiently. that is why chairman stark and i authored the legislation before us today, h.r. 6130, the strengthening medicare antifraud measures act. when mr. morris testified at our subcommittee, he identified ways in which the current law could be improved. this legislation seeks to address those areas. the bill makes two improvements to current law. first, it provides authority to exclude from federal health programs executives whose

companies have been convicted of fraud. the h.h.s. officer of inspector general would be allowed to exclude executives who were in positions of authority at the time the fraud was committed but have subsequently left those positions. because the current statute is written in the present tense, it only punishes officers managing employees and owners at the exact time o.i.g. levels punishment. therefore the individual who was the c.e.o. of a company that engaged in criminal fraud can evade medicare penalties if he or she resigns before the company is convicted. . convicted. the ex-c.e.o. can commit fraud all over again.

under h.r. 6130, o.i.g. could exclude the individuals who were responsible corporate officials at the time fraud was being committed regardless of where they are employed later. the second change this bill makes, prevents companies of -- convicted of fraud. the bill does this by strengthening o.i.g.'s ability to impose penalties on corporations affiliated with convicted entities or to use permissive exclusion authority to exclude them from program participation. currently corporations that engage in health care fraud can resolve the criminal case through a guilty plea of a nonoperating subsidiary. o.i.g.'s only remedy in such a

case doesn't allow for any meaningful punishment against the company that's actually behind the commare fraud. -- medicare frayed. this legislation gives o.i.g. the authority to exclude corporate parents or other affiliates from the medicare program so that o.i.g. will be better positioned to require significant changes at these companies beyond the remedies that are generally required in civil cases. this would provide a significant incentive to corporate parents to promote compliance and police the activities within their corporate families. with these adepigsal tools, o.i. -- additional tools, o.i.g. will be better able to stop those individuals who commit fraud but who have been able to stay one step ahead of law enforcement, saving taxpayer dollars and protecting

seniors. medicare fraud is a crime that hurts senior citizens, law-abiding health care providers and every american who pays taxes. i thank chairman stark for working with me on this legislation and urge support of my colleagues. i thank you, mr. speaker, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california, mr. herger, reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from california, mr. stark, is recognized. mr. stark: mr. speaker, at this time i would like to recognize for two minutes the distinguished chair of our oversight subcommittee on ways and means, who, like mr. herger, recognized the seriousness of this problem and was helpful in our hearings in calling attention to many of the problems, mr. louis. -- mr. lewis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for two minutes. mr. lewis: mr. speaker, i want to thank my friend, my colleague, chairman stark, for yielding time.

mr. speaker, we as a nation have a duty to provide the very best health care to our seniors and our disabled brothers and sisters. for them medicare is a blessing, a lifeline. each time someone steals money from medicare it weakens the public trust. it hurts our seniors and threatens the future of medicare. we must not and we will not allow criminals to rob medicare. if you defraud medicare once you will never ever do it again. c.e.o.'s who defraud medicare should not be able to simply move to another company and continue to bill medicare. their companies should not be able to hide behind corporate shells to rob medicare.

this bill will strengthen the anti-fraud laws and stop these unfair practices. i want to thank mr. herger, again, the chairman of our subcommittee on health, chairman stark, for working side by side with the oversight subcommittee to end these abuses. i ask all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this necessary bipartisan bill and thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. mr. lewis: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california, mr. herger, is recognized. mr. herger: well, let me -- just in closing, again, i urge members to vote yes on h.r. 6130, and i yield back the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california, mr. herger, yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california, mr. stark, is recognized. mr. stark: i want to thank my distinguished ranking member for his support and work in bringing this bill to the floor and thank the staff who worked on this bill, john barquette. he's now moved to health and human services. i want to recognize his leadership. i want to thank eric, don, from herger's staff for their work on this area. and also, debbie curtis, my committee as well and to thank mr. herger for joining with us to see that we bring an end to these bad practices. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california, mr. stark, yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 6130, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the

affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to h.r. 3199, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 353. h.r. 3199, a bill to amend the public health service act to provide grants to state emergency medical service departments to provide for the expedited training and licensing of veterans with prior medical training, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. pallone, and the gentleman from kentucky, mr. whitfield, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and

extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i rise today in strong support of h.r. 3199, the emergency emergency medic transition act of 2010. h.r. 3199 will help military medics transition to work as civilian emergency medic technicians. this bill authorizes grants for states that have a shortage of emergency medic transition to create programs to retain returning veterans that they become state certified e.m.t.'s . this is to shore up our civilian response capabilities, particularly in states with the demonstrated need for these services. programs like the ones authorized by this legislation, may be helpful for veterans with other health care

experience. that's why this legislation asks the g.a.o. to conduct the study. g.a.o. will make recommendations to congress, whether it makes sense, to expand this program to other health care professions. i want to thank, mr. particular, of course, representative harman and representative sarbanes, both from our energy and commerce committee, for their dedication to and leadership on this important issue. i urge my colleagues to support the bill, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. mr. whitfield: thank you, mr. speaker. and i rise today also in support of h.r. 3199, the emergency medic transition act. this legislation would provide grants to states with a shortage of e.m.t.'s to assist veterans who have completed military emergency training and assist them in becoming

stateland or certified e.m.t.'s. -- state licensed or certified e.m.t.'s. these veterans have received some of the best emergency response training available. our nation is currently blessed with thousands of men and women who through their honorable service in iraq and afghanistan and around the world are equipped with unmatched credentials and vast practical experience. we've heard of stories from around the country of there being a shortage of e.m.t.'s and about the training and licensing barriers returning veterans face when they transition to the civilian work force. if the federal government has provided training in emergency management services to these veterans it would be beneficial to use that investment to fill e.m.t. needs in communities once the veteran has left the service. it makes sense to me that we should help veterans with lifesaving skills to use them

in our communities after they come home. i would certainly like to thank, also, congresswoman harman and chairman pallone as well as congressman buyer of indiana, all of whom have worked hard on this legislation. i would urge my colleagues to support this legislation and i would reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. pallone: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to yield to the bill's sponsor, the gentlewoman from california, representative harman, such time as she may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized for as much time as she may consume. ms. harman: mr. speaker, i want to thank my friend and subcommittee chair, mr. pallone, and his ace staff for working to bring this bipartisan bill, the emergency medic transition, or e.m.t. act, to the floor. i want to thank mr. sarbanes, mr. bhitfield, mr. buyer and

others for their support in committee. it truly might be said that bipartisan broke out in our committee during debate on this bill. as you heard from mr. pallone, the bill will help our brave men and women who service medics in afghanistan and iraq to transition into e.m.t. jobs when they return. the act authorizes grants for states that have a shortage of e.m.t.'s to create a fast track program for vets who received and completed military emergency medical training to become emergency responders. these funds authorized in this bill can be used to provide course work and training, reimbursement for veterans for the cost of course work and any certification fees. obviously the bill is a win-win for the country and our vets. its passage will enhance the surge capacities of local medical facilities and provide jobs for our vets, especially during this critical economic downturn. it is worth noting that the unemployment rate last year for

iraq and afghanistan veterans, 18 to 24, was 21.1%. let me repeat that. our returning vets' unemployment rate was 21.1% unemployment which is significantly higher than the 16.6% rate for nonveterans of the same age. presently, military medics who wish to become first responders must restart their training from scratch fulfilling the same entry-level criteria people with previous training. this wastes time, money and talent. at the same time many hospitals and medical services throughout the country operate at or near capacity and a terrorist attack or natural disaster would result in saurge of patients that would overwhelm -- a surge of patients that would overwhelm med can facilities. this bill will help the people.

trauma care in afghanistan and iraq, these vets are ideally suited to respond to large-scale medical emergencies. they make ideal first responders making life or death decisions amid a backdrop of chaos and confusion. their work at the scenes of i.e.d. attacks, suicide bombings and firefights prepares them for this. in conclusion, let me mention that the g.a.o. study that mr. pallone referenced will report on barriers experienced by veteran medics seeking to join the civilian health professionals and whether or not we should expand this program to other health care providers. i urge support for the bill. it demonstrates in tangible form our appreciation for the service and skills of our returning military medics and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. mr. whitfield: i yield back the

balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i'd like to yield now to the other person who did a lot of work on this legislation, that's the gentleman from maryland, mr. sarbanes, for such time as he may consume. mr. sarbanes: i thank the gentleman for yielding. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. sarbanes: i thank the gentleman for yielding, and i rise in strong support of this bill. i want to salute congresswoman harman for her excellent work on this and perceiving where there was a need and how that need could be met. there are plenty of studies out there and there's a lot of anecdotal evidence that there is really severe shortages across our health work force. this is an area where i brought particular attention looking where niece shortages are and trying to think of not how we look at the traditional pipelines to bring people into these positions but how we think outside of the box at some of the nontraditional

sources where we can find the expertise and the experience to bring that through the pipeline and to fill these shortages. . this proposes a very innovative way to meet the needs that we have across the country for emergency medical technicians. it recognizes that military medics who are returning have acquired very valuable experience during their service which positions them extremely well to meet those needs and to fill those positions. it also recognizes that there's obstacles, that there's significant cross sometimes associated with the training that goes with certification, that it can be difficult in terms of getting that done in a timely fashion. and so what this bill does is addresses those issues. it would award grants to states to begin to streamline the

licensing process, provide some resources to assist with the cost of training and do other things to basically expedite this process of getting these appearanced people into these jobs where we need them -- experienced people into these jobs where we need them. it's garnered bipartisan support and certainly urge my colleagues to support it and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. pallone: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to yield now to the gentlewoman from south dakota, congresswoman herseth sandlin, for such time as she may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. herseth sandlin: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the chairman, the gentleman from new jersey, for yielding. i rise today in strong support of h. rrment 3199 -- h.r. 3199. this is a collaboratetive effort and i'd like to thank representatives harman, bean, sarbainsso, many others for their collaborative partnership on drafting the bill. i also want to thank

representative steve buyer with whom i've worked closely on the veterans affairs committee. representative buyer offered some commonsense suggestions as the ranking member of our full committee on how to improve h.r. 3199. he's also a member of the house energy and commerce committee. and he helped make the final product a better piece of legislation. this bill takes important steps to improve the ability of veterans to translate their military experience into the civilian work force. specifically working to help veterans with military medical experience to become civilian emergency medical technicians. the legislation creates a grant program that will assist individual states in the creation of a fast track e.m.t. certification process that takes into account the experience of veterans while serving in the military. recent estimates from the united states bureau of labor statistics show that veterans between the ages of 18 and 24 had an unemployment rate of 21.6% in 2009.

this is a terribly troubling number. and the veterans affairs economic opportunity subcommittee which i have the honor of chairing has held a series of hearings during the 111th congress on a variety of issues related to veterans employment. these hearings have shown that one of the critical barriers facing newly separated veterans trying to enter the work force is the challenge of translating their military experience into the civilian employment market. so i'm pleased that the legislation the house is considering today not only increases access to health care but does so by increasing employment opportunities for veterans. and allows them to use their skills gained in service to our country to serve their local communities and civilian life -- communities in civilian life. it also acquires an assessment of whether this new program should be expanded to help veterans with medical training to obtain certification in other health professions. i urge all of my colleagues to support this important legislation. thank you, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i now yield to the gentlewoman from texas, representative sheila jackson lee. such time as she may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas is recognized. ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, i thank the chairman very much for presiding over this very important legislation. as i've noted, any number of bills have been very constructive. i thank the manager, our friends on the other side of the aisle, i thank in particular ms. harman. the collaborative effort between energy and commerce and the veterans committee. this bill modest in funding. modest in funding. $5 million per year between 2012, i believe, and 2015. makes an important step toward the value that we place on our service men and women, one, we thank them while they're serving

and we make a commitment to thank them when their service is finished. my state happens to be unique in having the highest percentage of returning soldiers in particular from iraq and afghanistan in the state of texas. in addition, many of you are aware of many of the bases in our state, but as well you are aware of the horrific tragedy that occurred at fort hood just a few months ago and of course coming up on its first year, recognition. in that instance, many were lost, but some were injured. and the idea of using solders who have been trained by the military -- solders who have been trained by the military to return home for first responder utilization is a brilliant idea and one that is long in coming. it is well known that veterans do have a higher unemployment than the general population in many instances, but also, mr. speaker, we know that many of our veterans, because of a number of series of issues, find

themselves homeless. where is our continued promise about treating them with the same respect and dignity that we have done so while they were in the service and then when they are out? in this particular legislation, 3199, does two things that are enormously important. takes advantage of the important talent that is coming home, that wonderful training that saves lives on the battlefield, to use in america's emergency rooms, and then i was so slighted -- delighted to be able to hear that as we move to this massive and important change in medical reform, health care reform, that is going to save lives, particularly i think tomorrow will be a number of new provisions coming out in the health care bill, now we have the ability to assess the training of these very fine men and women to serve in america's medical professions. this is key. it's a great partnership, i thank the author of the bill. i rise to support it.

i'm loudly saying to those returning home to texas and other states around the nation that we now have an opportunity to use your great talents to save lives, to be in america's hospitals, to be in fire stations, to assist police officers and to be there when danger and disaster comes to face americans on the home soil. what better way of using the great talents that we have, the men and women who are willing to offer their lives on the battlefield, now can come home and serve their fellow americans in one of the highest professions we have and that is the health care profession, where you cannot ever say that no matter where you are, you have the ability to save lives. i yield back and ask my colleagues to support enthusiastically h.r. 3199 and i thank the gentleman from new jersey for yielding. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i have no additional speakers. i would yield back the balance of my time and urge passage of the bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the

balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3199 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the bill -- mr. pallone: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia. >> i ask for the yeas and nays. -- mr. broun: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia. mr. broun: i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i move that the house agree to h.r. 3470 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. -- union calendar number 354, h.r. 3470, a bill to authorize funding for the creation and implementation

of infant mortality pilot programs and standard metropolitan statistical areas of high rates of infant mortality and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. pallone, and the gentleman from kentucky, mr. whitfield, will each control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from new jersey. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, this bill authorizes a pilot program to address the serious public health problem and that's infant mortality. according to the centers for disease control and prevention, the u.s. infant mortality rate is about 50% higher than the national goal of 4.5eu7b fant deaths per 1,000 births. as of 2005, the united states ranked 30th in the world in infant mortality. the pilot program authorized in

this legislation would give grants to eligible entities to fight infant mortality in the most impacted areas. and i want to thank representative cohen, the sponsor of the newborn act, as it's called, for his deep commitment to and tireless leadership on this very important issue. i'd also like to thank chairman barton and i would say not chairman but our ranking member barton and ranking member shimkus and their staffs for working in a bipartisan manner to help get this legislation to the house floor. and i would reserve my time at this point. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. mr. whitfield: when we hear that the u.s. ranks 30th in the world it certainly bothers all of us. i do think it is important that

we also recognize just for informational purposes that not every country in the world uses the same method to determine infant mortality. for example, in the united states all live births at any birth weight or gestational age must be reported. in france, for example, only live births of at least 22 weeks of gestation or weighing at least 500 grams must be reported. so some of these countries use different reporting facts to determine their mortality rates. there's no question that certain communities in the united states have infant mortality rates that are persistently high and this legislation authorizes h.h.s. to award grants for pilot projects to reduce infant mortality in the communities with the highest infant mortality rates and would require these projects be evaluated to ensure we're on the

right track to reducing infant mortality rates in those areas and in the united states. i want to thank congressman cohen for his leadership on this issue as well as congressman pallone and shimkus and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. pallone: i'd like to yield, mr. speaker, at this time such time as he may consume to the sponsor of the bill, representative cohen of tennessee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank mr. pallone for the time and i want to thank mr. pallone and mr. andrews and chairman waxman for their help in getting this particular proposal to the floor and the minority side as well, mr. whitfield, my friend, and mr. shimkus and everyone who has worked on this. this is a particularly important

bill to me and an important bill in my district. this is infant mortality awareness month, september. and it's appropriate that this month this bill be brought up for consideration, the newborn act. newborn is an acronym. everything in washington seems to be an acronym and this acronym stands for nationally enhancing the well-being of babies through outreach and research now. enhancing the well-being of babies through outreach and research now. it is so important that we give children an opportunity to live and mothers and fathers an opportunity to see their children born and have a chance. my parents lost a child about 4 months of age in 1946. they never got over it. there are so many people who have lost children and it's something that stays with you forever. my particular city of memphis, we talked about the united states rate, we know it's too high no matter what it is and how you keepistics -- statistics, -- keep statistics, the city of memphis has one of the highest mortality rates in

the nation, said to be second. one particular zip code in my district, in the year 2007, it's a north memphis, predominantly low income african-american neighborhood, predominantly, it's entirely low income african-american neighborhood, had an infant mortality rate of 31 deaths per 100 live births. that's almost five times the rate of seven deaths per 1,000 live births and that's worst in developing nations of iran, indonesia, nicaragua, el salvador, syria and vietnam in infant mortality for that year. . mortality rate for that year. it's an issue that can strike people of any race but it's largely among racial lines and there's a great racial disparity. the c.d.c. has found this. they found that african-americans have 2.4 times infant rate than whites.

african-americans are four times as likely to die as infants. and african-american mothers were two to four times more likely to begin prenatal care in their third trimuster. that's where a lot of outreach can be done. that's why the newborn bill is so needed and that's why my office decided to make this our top priority. my chief of staff, ellen, the district director met in memphis. brittany johnson, who is the director in the area of health care, the whole office worked on the issue and we brought it as a bill, but we also had it included in the first health care bill that the health care bill that passed this house. and it was featured in the speaker's bullet points about what it could possibly do for infant mortality, for this to be the largest outreach program

that the federal government has ever engaged in and this is an authorization to find answers to the problem of infant mortality. of course, because of the situation of politics in the senate, we had to go to a reconciliation, there wasn't a conference committee, and this part of the health care bill wasn't included because the senate didn't have it and reconciliation didn't allow it for proposals like this that didn't add to it or decrease from the budget. this was an authorization, so it didn't make it to the final phase because of what happened in massachusetts. that hurt us in what can be an important step forward for mothers and children. we hope that the bill will pass here today and that the senate will pick it up. we hoe that senator -- the senators will help us do this and allow the secretary of heament and -- health and human

services provide grants. the pilot programs to employ and lower infant mortality and that includes outreach to mothers, outreach facilities to pregnant women. the language suggests each program provide infant care counseling, postpartum care, additional care for at-risk mothers and a rural outreach program and a public education program. all these can save moneys in the long run in health care because some of the most expensive treatment rendered is for premature babies and case for this particular age of life can be very expensive. if we have more prenatal care it will have less problems. not only is it the best thing to do but it will save money. we hope that those entities that look for money will help those to lower infant

mortality. our city mayor has headed up programs. the cultivation of partnerships between local leaders is essential in order to ensure that the problem is addressed in a sufficient problem. i introduced the newborn act because the number of infant mortality rates in memphis. i hope the enactment will help the incalculable number of people that will lose a child or grandchild in the yoors to come. i want to thank chairman waxman for getting this bill to the floor. i hope we will have the help in the senate that the mothers and children and grandchildren in this nation deserve. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from fn yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. mr. whitfield: i would urge all the members to support this legislation and thank mr. cohen, again, and others who have worked hard on this legislation. i yield back the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i'd also yield back the balance of my time and urge that the bill pass. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3470 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative -- mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i would ask for the yeas and nays on that. mr. faleomavaega: the yeas and nays are requested. -- the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to h.r. 5756 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of

the bill. the clerk: h.r. 5756, a bill to amend title 1 of the developmental disabilities assistance and bill of rights act of 2000 to provide for grants and technical assistance to improve services rendered to children and adults with autism, and their families, and to expand the number of university centers for excellence in developmental disabilities education, research, and service. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. pallone, and the gentleman from kentucky, mr. whitfield, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. pallone: and, mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i rise today in strong support of h.r. 5756, the training and research for autism

improvements nationwide act of 2010, or the train act, as it's called. the train act builds upon the important work for disabilities education, research and service, or the -- in addressing individuals with disabilities. h.r. 5756 authorizes targeted grants to support intradisciplinary training, technical assistance for children and adults on the autism spectrum as well as their families. the centers for disease control and prevention has stated that autism spectrum disorders are an urgent public health concern. autism affects an estimated one in 100 children nationwide and there's currently no cures for autism. however, research shows that early intervention services can greatly improve the development of children where autism. h.r. 5756 also seeks to promote the expansion of the network to

include minority serving institutions. this parallels a 2009 effort to support partnerships between the existing ue selfs and minority serving institutions for all forms of development hahl disabilities. they play a critical role in providing a range of training activities and services and in building capacity within communities. experts and advocates have called for funding to ensure these facilities meet the needs of people with developmental disabilities, particularly those with autism. and people with diverse backgrounds face greater challenges than those with autism in accessing services. mr. speaker, i am pleased we have an opportunity today that both supports the efforts of usaid and works to ensure we will do all we can with people with and directly affected by autism. i want to mention that representative doyle has been a tireless advocate for autism issues. he's the bill's sponsor. he currently chairs the congressional autism caucus

along with representative chris smith from my state who i see on the floor, and i want to commend representative doyle for his work on this bill and for his leadership on this issue. if i could add personally during the august recess i met on one occasion with a large group of families with children with autism, and i was amazed at how, you know, little services are available. obviously anything like this that makes a difference for them and for other children with autism and their families is really significant. so i also want to recognize and thank our ranking member shimkus and our ranking member barton for working with chairman waxman and myself to bring this bill to the floor. i urge my colleagues to support the bill, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. mr. whitfield: thank you very much. i also want to thank

congressman doyle for his leadership on this issue and i would like at this time to yield four minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, who has been particularly involved in the issue of autism and yield four minutes to him. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for four minutes. mr. smith: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i want to thank my good friend for yielding, for his leadership. i want to thank my colleagues. this is truly a bipartisan issue. i especially want to thank my good friend and colleague, mike doyle. we are co-chairs of the autism caucus it shows that bipartisan still survives and for a tremendous cause, a good cause like combating autism, it is great to join him in sponsoring this bill. he's the prime sponsor and i am the principal co-sponsor. i say that the provision to this bill is not only important buti sention in providing assistance to those with autism spectrum disorder and their families. implementation of the train act will significantly expand the ranks of qualified service provider who are equipped with the knowledge and the tools of the state of the science,

evidence-based, educational, med canled social intervention. personally, mr. speaker, i became involved in autism as far back as 1982 when i first visited eden institute in princeton. eden is breaking ground tomorrow on a new uniquely designed autism school designed by eden teachers who have utilized three decades of knowledge and best practices in teaching individuals with autism to reach their full potential. however, huge gaps in the federal response to autism came into sharp focus back in 1998 when i was visited by bobby and billy gallagher, the parents of who daughters with autism from my district, who told me of their concerns about a perceived explosion in the prevalence in autism in brick townsship. daniel was diagnosed with autism in 1997 or another couple who told me the realities and they were very concerned about this prevalence

spike. i would note at the time the center for disease control spent $287,000 per year, straight line 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998. that doesn't even buy a debt. it's so little. now we're up to $22 million. after meeting with families, these families and others, we initiated an investigation led by the c.d.c., and they confirmed that cases of autism were significantly higher than expected in brick, but the evidence gathered indicated a larger potentially nationwide prevalence problem. the drill, which was accepted by chairman mike bilirakis, as title 1 of the children's health act, mandating an increased surveillance. you can't fight something if you don't know who, what, when, where and even why of it. as established, the legislation created centers of excellent and now we know -- excellence and now we know autism affects one in every 100 children, one

in 70 boys. sadly in my own state, it's even higher. faced with this epidemic, mike doyle and i formed a coalition on autism research and education which today has 157 members. the legislation we are considering today, the train act, offers an opportunity for us to do something for the 1.5 million individuals living with autism every day. the legislation authorizes dwrants to existing university centers -- grants to existing university centers for excellence in the case of education or reference or services and also parents, vocational individuals with intradisciplinary training, technical assistance and information for the purpose of improving services to children and adults with autism in their families. the bill also provides for establishment of up to four new university centers for developmental disabilities giving priority to minority institutions or institutions

that would serve currently or underserved populations. another important provision, a very important provision, is the selection of a nationwide organization to disseminate nationally evidence-based best practices and other models, materials and practices developed by the university centers or from other sources, including development of a web portal. people need to know the information because there's often a conflict about autism. i urge members to support this legislation, this is an excellent bill and will really help those who are afflicted. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. pallone: mr. speaker, i now yield as much time as he may consume to the sponsor of the bill, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. doyle. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for as much time as he may consoum. -- consume. mr. doyle: i want to thank chairman waxman, chair